


Clarity

by SundayRowe



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Blindness, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Not Naruto Epilogue Compliant, One-Sided Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Post-Naruto Time Skip | Naruto Shippuden, Romance, Shounen-ai, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:25:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7835515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SundayRowe/pseuds/SundayRowe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Itachi never betrayed the leaf. Danzo had blood on his hands. The mangekyou came with a price. But Naruto didn't know that, and he couldn't have known the events he set into motion the day he brought his best friend home. Konoha's rookie 9 is back together again, and the question on everyone's mind: What is the truth around Sasuke Uchiha? Naruto X Sasuke. Canon-divergent</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Dark eyes gleamed at him from behind steel bars. He was reminded of the Kyuubi's foul glare from within his transcendent cage. It was dusky. The room was windowless and mildewed, with inter-spaced yellow lighting at the end of each hall. They were deep in the heart of the prison beneath Konoha, a place reserved for the feared to be forgotten.

The last Uchiha had been leaning against the back corner of his cell, but rose now to face him. Naruto wrapped his hand around one of the cold metal bars separating the two. They observed each other. The gentle drip of a damaged pipe occasionally broke the silence.

"What can I say to you?" Naruto asked finally. He leaned his forehead against the bar. His eyes dropped to the cold stone floor.

The Uchiha remained where he was, face hidden in the shadows of the cell. He made no move to acknowledge that he'd heard the question. Silence reigned.

Naruto turned from the cage and left without another word. He felt the dark gaze follow him as he walked away. At the top of the stairs he pushed through a heavy doorway, back into the light of day.

The door guard smiled weakly, brows pushed upward in pity.

"See you tomorrow." He said.

Naruto nodded, not breaking stride. His pace quickened as he swept through the hallway. Down to the first door on his left. Then up the stairs. Another left. Wide double doors rose up before him. Made intimidating by the presence within them. Naruto glanced at the clock across the hall. He was right on time.

He pushed his way into the office. Danzo's gaze hardened as it met his, irritation in every creased line of the aged face. Sunlight streamed into the room from behind the heavy wooden desk, casting a long shadow that reached across the floor.

"Lord Hokage-" Naruto began. His words had become a part of the room, paired with the fading sunlight and Danzo's aged glare. For weeks they had completed this afternoon ritual.

"Enough." The old man waved a wizened hand. "How much of my time do you intend to waste on behalf of a traitor?"

Naruto was quiet, his blue eyes trained down at the elder. Danzo seemed different today, on edge. Beads of sweat gathered near his temple despite the October chill.

"As much time as it takes." He responded.

Danzo leaned back, observing him from under the red and white Hokage headdress.

"Why are you so dedicated to him?" He asked. His voice was graveled with age. Tinged with dislike.

"He is my friend." Naruto answered without hesitation.

Danzo's jaw clenched with irritation. He swiveled in his chair to look out over the village.

"I have spoken to the council on the issue."

Naruto stepped closer to the desk, listening.

"They are grateful for your efforts in the battle against the Akatsuki leader. You have won their esteem." Danzo grated the words out.

"They have approved the Uchiha's release."

Naruto's whiskered face broke into a wide smile, the first of the day.

"I shouldn't need to tell you what will happen if he gives us any reason to think he may be planning an escape."

"He won't." He croaked, relief rushed into his voice. Danzo did not turn to acknowledge him.

"Prepare yourself. I do not want to hear any more on this matter."

Naruto backed out of the room, turning on his heel to rush down the tower.

Stories below them, Sasuke paced circles in the darkness.


	2. Bound

The door swung inward and Naruto entered the apartment, arms filled to the brim with groceries. He dumped them on the counter unceremoniously. A tomato rolled across the surface and plopped into the sink.

"Sasuke?" He called out. His shoulders tensed. It'd been two weeks, yet he couldn't shake the fear that he would disappear once out of his sight. His eyes darted to the locked window. He could sense one of their ANBU guards watching from outside

He stepped into the doorway to his room. The dark haired shinobi was leaning against the bed frame, one long leg tucked under the other. Naruto's old training scrolls spread out around him in disarray. A thick metal chain bound his hands loosely together. Red seal markings snaked up his forearms in bold stripes.

Naruto tilted his head against the doorframe, feeling relief course through him. Sasuke continued to flip through the pages of a small book, not bothering to acknowledge his spectator.

"What are you reading?" He asked. He hadn't bought new books since his academy days.

"Nothing of interest." Sasuke muttered, tossing the book onto the bed with visible disdain. The title spelled What makes a Shinobi in emblazoned golden font.

Naruto observed him quietly. The dark haired boy did not move from his spot on the bed. His eyes remained downcast, as if not willing to acknowledge the new presence in the room. He felt a static in the air despite the stillness. The familiar energy that always seemed to flow between the two of them. Binding them together.

He walked across the room to his desk and opened the top drawer. Aware of the dark eyes watching his movements. Nestled inside was an old headband, the metal plating scratched across the front.

"What about this?" Naruto asked. He turned, holding the tattered cloth in his outstretched palm. Sasuke met his eyes coldly, his lips twisted downward in anger.

"I'll hold on to it just in case you want it back someday." He said to himself, knowing better than to hope for a response. He returned the headband to its place in his drawer, underneath a dusty picture of team 7.

Back in the kitchen he tossed the spilled groceries into their respective cabinets. Sasuke entered the room behind him.

"Did you get what I asked for?"

Naruto tossed him a small pack of painkillers.

"They're the lowest dosage; I'm not allowed to get you anything more powerful." He watched the other boy fill a glass of water. Pale fingers reached for the pill container and missed, grabbing air before resting on the cap.

"How….how are you feeling?" He asked, averting his eyes. At first Naruto had attributed it to the heavy seals painted across his arms, but chakra suppressants wouldn't cause either the seeming loss of fine motor control or the splitting headaches plaguing the Uchiha.

Sasuke turned to face him fully, expression blank and guarded. He held his hands out in front of him. The chains around his wrists clinked against each other with the movement. Naruto felt his stomach flip as he held the dark stare.

"Never mind." He said finally, shaking his head. "Do you want to go out? You've been shut inside for days. We could go say hi to Sakura or Kakashi sensei."

Sasuke glanced at the window, as if searching for a glimpse of their ever present ANBU guards.

"…I just have to stay with you." Naruto reminded him quietly.

"Let's train." Sasuke replied after a moment. Naruto smiled weakly.

* * *

 

Sasuke was panting, hands cupped around his eyes. Naruto froze, seeing the opening for attack but not able to bring himself to take advantage of it.

"Sasuke! Sasuke what have you done to your eyes!" He cried out, watching blood seep between the Uchiha's fingers.

Sasuke roared as an answer. Lunging blindly at him, eyes screwed shut and chidori flashing. Naruto dodged easily, jumping high in the air above the Uchiha. He sensed Kakashi and Sakura on either side, preparing to close in.

Below him, Sasuke looked up, eyes squinting open to meet his gaze. The mangekyou sharingan was swirling, tears of blood streaming down his cheeks. He shot his amaterasu at Naruto, the black flames arching into the sky and landing around him in a circle. Naruto watched Sakura dodge as a piece narrowly missed her. His heart clenched.

"You've killed Itachi, what is there to keep fighting for?" He landed squarely in front of the Uchiha, the heat of the inextinguishable flames licking at his sides.

"Naruto." Sasuke ground out through clenched teeth. "Why won't you ever leave me alone."

He lunged again, but this time, rather than dodging Naruto leapt forward to meet him. With a solid blow to the back of the head he knocked the Uchiha into the ground. The sharingan dissipated with the last of Sasuke's chakra. He heard Sakura yelling for them from across the flames.

"I'm taking you home."

* * *

 

An orange sunset lit the sky behind Hokage Mountain. Smoky clouds with the scent of barbeque lifted from the village vendors. Naruto folded his arms behind his head, enjoying the crisp autumn weather. Sasuke strode next to him, his head bowed slightly to avoid the curious and sometimes hostile gazes of the villagers milling around them.

A chunin he vaguely recognized sidestepped to stay out of their path, his face drawn back in fear at the sight of Sasuke. Naruto scowled at him.

"In a way things have reversed, right?" He said, half smiling at the Uchiha.

Sasuke grunted an acknowledgement, their switched roles not lost on him. As children it was he who received the admiration of the villagers, and Naruto who walked head down to avoid their stares.

"The village has changed." He said, nodding toward the destroyed outer walls. Naruto nodded, the ever present sound of construction rang distantly around them.

"The battle with Akatsuki came close to wiping us out." He said. "I defeated the Akatsuki leader." He added, unable to keep the pride from swelling into his voice.

Sasuke shot him a sidelong look.

"So I heard." He said shortly.

The uncut grass of the training grounds spilled out before them. Naruto ran ahead, placing himself in front of the knocked wooden stumps where they had become team 7. He grinned at his companion.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked.

Sasuke stopped. He looked around mutely, seemingly unimpressed by Naruto's antics.

"The training ground." He said.

"This brings back memories right." Naruto smiled. He stepped aside and pointed to the stumps pushed into the ground. Sasuke's eyes dropped to them before rising to meet Naruto's. Maybe it was just in his head, but he thought he saw a flicker of sadness for their lost past flash across the dark shinobi's eyes. Emotion had clouded the pale face for a split second, before being replaced by the customary disinterested mask. Naruto's smile faltered.

Sasuke assumed a fighting stance. Naruto felt, rather than saw, the chakra signatures of their guardian ANBU peak around them. They were being watched closely.

"Taijutsu, no weapons or tricks." He said. If the ANBU thought their fighting out of hand, Danzo would hear of it.

"Not like I can do nin or genjutsu like this." Sasuke said flatly, pointing to the red seal markings on his wrists.

He averted his eyes from the bindings, giving Sasuke the opening he needed. He lunged at him with frightening speed. Even with his chakra blocked, he was a fearsome opponent. Blows rained down at him and Naruto spun to dodge them, feeling his pulse quicken in response to the battle. They would put on quite the show for their ANBU spectators.

But Sasuke slipped, mid-blow his aim went wild and he dropped to his knees. He slowed his own attack, dropping beside him.

"Sasuke…what.." He started, dodging backwards as the other boy swung to push him away. The Uchiha's hand was clamped around his eyes, thumb pressed into his temple.

"Let me see!" He demanded, leaning in to pry the white fingers away. Naruto tilted his friend's face upwards toward the light. He inhaled a gasp. A milky film covered the cornea, the dark hues of his iris clouded into a foggy gray.

"I'm going blind, Naruto." Sasuke said softly, and for the first time in years Naruto heard the underlay of true fear in his voice.


	3. Awry

"Sasuke's been back for over a month now, and half of us haven't even seen him yet!"

Sakura sat cross legged on a wooden stool in the Yamanaka flower shop. She raised an eyebrow at her blonde friend, watching as she trimmed the stems off a handful of yellow daffodils.

"Ino you know…Sasuke isn't who he was a few years ago." She said hesitantly, afraid to offend the girl. "Not that any of us really knew him back then either."

"Naruto did." Ino replied, wrapping the finished flowers with a blue tie. Her voice had an odd inflection to it. As if she were implying something more than what was said.

"Yes...maybe Naruto did. My point being though, that he may not be excited to see us." Sakura trailed off, looking away. Not only had they not seen Sasuke, barely anyone had seen Naruto in the last few weeks.

"It would be nice to see them both, I'm just worried that we'll be overwhelming. Sasuke's barely out of interrogation and you know they have guards watching them at all times."

"How is he supposed to become a part of the village again if all he does in sit in Naruto's apartment?" Her small hands moved methodically, snipping stem from flower with a practiced efficiency. If she had not known her for so long, she might have assumed disinterest from the girl's concentration to the task at hand. But she knew that the slim girl's true focus lay in her friends' well being. Sakura had to admit that she had a fair point. Eventually, Sasuke would have to reclaim his former role as a part of the community. The elders could not even consider letting him walk freely until he proved himself loyal.

"I'll talk to Naruto about it, if he says yes we can meet up tomorrow night at my place."

Ino finally looked up to flash her a reassuring smile. She returned with her own, aware that the taunting gleam in her friend's blue eyes suggested an interest in more than just the party.

"I know you want to see him." She handed her one of the yellow daffodils, a playful grin spread across her fine features. "Maybe he feels the same."

* * *

"A party?" Naruto's nose scrunched up as he thought about it.

Sakura smiled, clasping her hands in front of her imploringly.

"Just think about it, it would be great to get everyone together. It's been…a long time."

"I don't know, you know how he is." He glanced over his shoulder into his apartment, one hand propping the wooden door open behind him. No doubt Sasuke was in there, listening. Sakura ignored the twinge of hurt that he hadn't bothered to come out and greet her.

"When would you want to do this?" He came out fully, softly closing the door so as not to disturb.

Sakura watched his features relax now that they were out of earshot from their wayward teammate. Stress tugged at the set of his jaw and the corners of his eyes.

"Naruto, you look exhausted."

She reached for a hug and pulled him tightly against her.

"I'm fine Sakura." He said with a low chuckle, she looked up to see a bemused smile on his face. She shook her head.

He led her outside, towards a wooden bench and further out of earshot. A strong chakra presence moved about on the roof of the apartment building. She caught a glimpse of a beaked bone mask jutting out from a dark robe.

"Sorry, it's just. He's draining…the way he looks at me. At everything. I'm starting to wonder…" He trailed off, eyes unfocused. "Did we do the right thing bringing him back?"

Her brows raised in surprise. Since the day Sasuke had left, Naruto had lived with a single minded determination to bring him home. Had nearly died fighting for it. For him to begin to doubt himself now...

"I don't know." She answered hesitantly. "We had to try. Even if we'd left him alone, he still would have been hunted as a missing nin."

It was true. He had doomed himself to a hard life the moment he left the village. Konoha could not suffer a traitor to live. Especially not one who carried an ancient kekkei genkai within his bloodline. This is why she'd gone to him, begging him to stay. One of the reasons why she'd gone to him.

"We've trapped him like an animal." Naruto said numbly.

Sakura stood, not wanting to allow him to wallow in his thoughts a moment longer.

"You two come over tomorrow night. It will be a change of pace; I think it could be healthy for everyone." She said. Her voice rang with forced optimism, even to her own ears.

"Yeah, I'll think about it. I'll do my best to get him there."

She turned to leave and Naruto smiled and waved goodbye, his smile faltered and slipped from his face as he turned back to face his apartment. The masked figure had retreated back to the roof, out of sight. Never far away and always alert.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked as Naruto walked in. He was seated on the couch with his back to the door, bent forward over something unseen.

"You weren't listening?"

His dark hair cascaded around his face, hiding his eyes as he focused on the apple in his hand. Red peels lifted around a dull kitchen knife. Naruto had been stocked with 'safety' silverware after signing on to host the prisoner. As if the shinobi in front of him hadn't been trained to kill in a hundred ways before ever holding a knife.

"Sakura is gathering the rookies together tomorrow night. She came to invite us." Naruto said, watching Sasuke's thumb as he guided the blade under the thin skin.

He shrugged, listless.

"I want you to come with me." He said finally, eyes dropping to the floor. Sasuke said nothing for a while. The peelings fell in precise spirals to the napkin in his lap.

"I want things to go back to how they used to be."

Sasuke bit into one of the slices. His face impassive.

* * *

_It's loud._

Naruto's first thought as he entered the small family home. He walked in first, Sasuke trailing behind him. A roar went up as the others caught sight of them.

"Naruto!" Kiba yelled, bowling over to him enthusiastically and slinging an arm around his neck. He either hadn't noticed Sasuke's presence yet or was ignoring him entirely. Naruto smiled weakly.

They were the last ones there. The rookie nine were congregated around the living room.

"Naruto-kun!" He picked out Hinata's quiet voice in the hubbub.

Sakura rushed over, finding Sasuke's dark form immediately.

"I'm so glad you two made it!" She said, emphasizing the _two_ and glancing at Kiba disparagingly. Naruto winced.

"Sasuke, nice to see you again." Sai joined them at the door, smiling. He cocked his head to the side slightly as he examined them. His eyes hovered on the scarlet seals encircling Sasuke's wrists.

"It's been awhile since we last met…Not sure if you remember me." Sai said, and Naruto swore he was antagonizing him on purpose. Their last meeting Sasuke had tried to kill all three of them.

"I don't." Sasuke answered flatly.

"Long time ago that was, haha!" Sakura's tone took on a shrill edge. She grabbed the two by the arm and directed them toward the couch in the center of the room. Sai remained by the door, watching them closely. The atmosphere had quieted down now, and Naruto felt all gazes directed at the boy next to him. Looking around the room he saw trepidation in their eyes.

_I shouldn't have brought him to this._

"Sa-Sasuke kun, I'm happy to see that you are home again. I know Na-Naruto kun was very worried about you while you were gone." Hinata, always the kindest, spoke to fill the awkward silence that had fallen.

Sasuke said nothing. Naruto jumped to acknowledge her, grateful for the distraction.

"Yeah it's great! Look at us, all of the rookies together again!" His face stretched into a tight grin.

"The rookies plus Sai." Ino pointed out.

"Ahh, who cares about him." Kiba teased. Sai's lips twitched into a smile.

"It's good you're back…Sasuke." Shikamaru added, but Naruto caught the concerned crease in his brow. The thinly veiled distrust in his eyes as they darted from the Uchiha's chained wrists to his seals.

Sasuke remained silent next to him, making no move to acknowledge either the greetings or the blatant stares. He felt a surge of protectiveness for him, alone as he was. His knee moved slightly so it rested against the other boy, offering a silent show of support. To his surprise he didn't pull away.

"How is the reconstruction going?" He asked, reaching for a safe topic.

"Very good. We're making good time. It's imperative we repair our defenses before a neighboring state takes advantage of our weakened defense." Shikamaru responded without moving his eyes from the Uchiha.

"Actually, I haven't seen you out there helping us much with rebuilding." Kiba said. "What's with that?"

"He saved the village! I'd say he'd done way more than you Kiba." Ino said, her glossed lips twisted in slight disdain. Kiba scowled back at her.

Naruto said nothing. He'd been turning down assignments in favor of staying near his apartment. He didn't want to tell them about the crippling anxiety he felt when he left Sasuke alone for too long. How when he closed his eyes, his nightmares carried him back to the valley of the end. How many times he'd woken to the phantom crackling of chidori in his ears, or the half remembered rush of a far off waterfall.

"So..how about snacks? I bought watermelon for us!" Sakura said suddenly, standing to walk to the kitchen.

To Naruto, and the rest of the room's complete surprise, Sasuke also stood.

"I'll help you carry it." He said.

Sakura blushed a healthy shade of pink and averted her eyes.

"Oh! Sasuke, that'd be great thank you."

Naruto watched them go, unable to conceal the shock on his face.

"I love watermelon.." Chouji added, seemingly oblivious to the unusual show of consideration.

The conversation around him slowly restarted, but Naruto kept his ears trained on the kitchen. Through the archway he could make out Sasuke's back, the Uchiha symbol emblazoned on his shirt collar. Sakura was smiling up at him with an expression he hadn't seen since their genin days. He felt a twinge of discomfort in his chest and averted his eyes from the domestic scene.

He turned to join the chatter. Hinata smiled up at him from under dark eyelashes. A strange glow in her milky white iris. She opened her mouth to speak. A loud crash erupted from the kitchen.

"Sasuke!" He heard Sakura shriek. Then he was there, rasengan spattering to life in his hand. There was blood on the floor and Sasuke was holding the wide butchers knife in his right hand. Naruto reached for it, holding the rasengan up above them both. The knife slashed out at him and Naruto leapt back as the point whipped dangerously close to his neck. He heard Hinata scream behind him. The room was overcrowded with shinobi trying to help.

Red sputtered to life in Sasuke's black eyes, the pinwheels spinning in and out against the chakra suppressants. He yelled out, grasping his eyes in pain as a combination of his failing sight and the seals overruled him. Only did then Naruto realize the blood on the floor was coming from his hand. One of his fingers harshly cut to the bone.

"Wait!" He yelled, but the windows crashed in and Sasuke's ANBU guards dove into the fray. They landed on the Uchiha, body slamming him into the ground and yanking the offending weapon from his hands. His blood burned, and a familiar presence made itself known in the corner of his mind. Somewhere inside of him, the kyuubi was chucking.

"GET OFF OF HIM." Naruto bellowed, furious. It was a mistake. Sasuke had cut himself. The others didn't know about his failing sight. If Naruto hadn't rushed at him like that-

"Stand back Uzumaki!" One of the ANBU yelled, and slapped a seal onto Sasuke's back. The other aimed a kick at his face. Naruto felt his eyes bleed red.

"Stop hurting him!" Sakura shrieked, one hand rose to cover her mouth.

All thought left him. White hot rage licked at his insides, burning it's way up his torso. He punched the ANBU in the mask so hard it shattered into pieces. White eyes blazed back at him, the byakugan peered out from behind thick dark hair.

Sage mode active, he could see Sasuke's chakra patterns blocked at every point. The seal forced him down into the ground, rendering him unconscious. Naruto ripped it off and slung him onto his back.

_These people will treat him as they once treated you, Naruto._

The kyuubi's rumblings invaded his mind.

"Stay out of my way." He spat at the remaining ANBU. They hesitated, kunai raised. The red chakra coated him fully now. He could sense his friends' fear as he turned to the shattered window, Sasuke tightly secured against him. He leapt out, knowing the ANBU would try to follow. The Kyuubi's power enhanced his speed. He was unmatched in haste by all save for who he carried now. Dark hair brushed against his face as his head lolled against Naruto's neck.

_Will you stand by and watch him suffer as you once did?_

He pushed the voice away. The nine-tail's whispering was clouding his judgement. The animal rage coercing him towards violence.

He considered the hospital. The kicks the ANBU had launched at the bound boy were harsh. The seal that had driven him to his knees even harsher. Still, the council would be furious. No doubt they were being briefed already. He couldn't risk them taking him away again, locking him in a cell and throwing away the key. He shouldn't have lunged at him...

Looking out over the village, he knew where they could go.


	4. Red

**Red**

Naruto played with the hem of a faded wool blanket. The frayed blue threads strung around his thumb. He'd thrown it over the Uchiha, tucking it around him to form a little cocoon. The sleeping boy's dark brows were drawn back and relaxed, mouth slack. He noticed for the first time that one of his teeth was twisted slightly, left crooked from some long past fight.

The ANBU had done a number on him. A faint bruise was forming on one of his white cheeks. Whatever seals they'd used had knocked him clean out. Even as genin, safe under Kakashi's watchful eye, he'd never seen him sleep this deeply.

By the time Sasuke opened his dark eyes, the sun had set entirely. It was night, and Naruto surveyed him by weak moonlight come in through a dusty window.

He was gripping the injured hand in his own without realizing it, avoiding the sloppily bandaged gash. Sasuke looked around mutely, taking in their surroundings.

"Why are we here?" He asked, no anger in his voice, just quiet shock. They were in an abandoned upstairs bedroom of the center most house in the Uchiha compound. It was a child's room at some point, judging from the peeling blue paint on the wall and the scribbled drawings still tacked in place. Naruto tried not to think of what must have happened to its original inhabitant.

"I thought it'd be..safe. I didn't want them to find you."

"Why did you think that?" Sasuke asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice.

"No one ever comes here, and, I know there are wards around this place. I can sense it in sage mode, it's difficult to make out someone's presence in here."

Sasuke, to Naruto's surprise, had the hint of smile on his lips.

"Uchiha wards, from before the massacre. You really have gotten stronger, Naruto." He said, eyes closed as though remembering how this place must have once been. The compound was huge. It was no surprise it'd been heavily guarded in its time.

Naruto ignored the rush of emotions he felt at Sasuke's compliment. He gripped his hand tighter, careful to avoid the injured finger.

"Sasuke.."

The dark shinobi opened his eyes languidly, meeting Naruto's gaze with a clarity that denied his decaying sight.

"I'm sorry I forced you back to Konoha. I didn't know it'd be..like this." He hadn't meant to apologize, but the words tumbled out. Didn't want to admit he was wrong, for where did that leave them? For all Naruto's stubborn loyalty to the village, he knew its flaws. Saw the shadows for what they were. The rift between the Uchiha and his village had grown too wide. He would wither here.

"How did you expect this to go?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto found himself captivated by the dark gaze. Saw the anger, always close to the surface.

"I don't know, just, better. Better than this." He said defensively, screwing his eyes shut. "I thought that I could convince you to accept the village. I didn't think I'd need to convince them to accept you."

"Always the optimist." Sasuke sighed. He reached up to brush away a strand of Naruto's blond hair, an undeniable affection in the gesture. Naruto froze, his eyes darted to meet Sasuke's before dropping to the ground. In that brief moment he saw an intensity in the gaze that filled him with a rush of adrenaline, setting his heart pounding. Not unlike when they met in battle, he found himself spellbound.

In the stillness of the Uchiha compound, Naruto became acutely aware that they were alone together for the first time in years. No lurking ANBU guards or meddlesome friends. The thought made him vulnerable and he shifted away. Sasuke's hand dropped from his hair as he moved. He caught it in his own.

"Let me try something." He said. His grip encircled the pale wrist. He gathered his chakra, directing it towards the red seals. A resistance pushed at his mind, not too different from what he felt when the fox railed against his own seal. The markings glowed white. Deep inside himself, Naruto felt them begin to come apart. Sasuke pulled away, shaking his head.

"No." He said firmly.

"Why not? Isn't this what you wanted. I'll let you go." He reached out for his hand again. Sasuke knocked him away more harshly this time.

"I could kill you the moment I'm free." He reminded him.

"You wouldn't do that."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

Sasuke held his gaze, refusing to allow him access to the seal. Naruto sighed. He slid onto the bed and leaned upright against the wall. It was cramped, but he was careful not to touch his bedfellow. He could feel his body heat emanating from the thin blankets. Sasuke turned his head to watch him as he moved around. His expression was unreadable.

He tucked his arms over his knees, watching the dark windows for their pursuers. The minutes dragged forward and he heard Sasuke's breathing deepen into an even pace. He found himself treasuring the moment. The stillness. Naruto's chest felt warm, heat radiated out from his heart.

_You really have gotten stronger._

The ANBU had circled him entirely before he noticed something was amiss. He leapt to his feet, kunai drawn.

"Uzumaki, do not put up a fight."

A cold warning. The tone promised violence if he did not comply.

Sasuke stood beside him. His hands at his sides. The chain of his handcuffs swung against him silently. He walked towards the ANBU without any sign of resistance.

"Wait!" Naruto called out, panic had crept into his voice. "You don't have to."

Sasuke did not turn to acknowledge him. He stood before the ANBU squad in silence. Almost deferential.

"Don't interfere Naruto." He said. Knowing without needing to glance behind him what the other was planning.

"So you're just going to let them lock you up again?" Naruto shouted. "Are you that afraid to fight?"

An ANBU rushed at him. Naruto parried the blow, sidestepping away. His gaze remained locked on the Uchiha's back.

"You're being a fool."

"Better than a coward!"

He felt a sharp pinprick tear at his left thigh. Reaching down he grasped the offending item. A laced dart. His vision distorted and the ground rushed to meet him.

* * *

He was on his knees before the council, glaring at the cold granite floor. More than ever, he missed Tsunade's presence.

"You attacked an ANBU member, Naruto. What did you expect would happen?" One of the elders, a woman, stared him down. He shifted, his bound arms stuck out behind him uselessly.

"They were hurting my friend." Naruto responded.

The woman's lip curled in distaste. Her eyes, set unusually wide apart, narrowed as they surveyed him.

"The report says he swung a knife at you."

"He couldn't..." Naruto began, about to explain Sasuke's intermittent sight. Something stopped him, some quiet instinct that this should be kept secret for now.

"It's my fault, I lunged at him and he defended himself." He finished.

"Naruto.."

"It's my fault!" He said again, louder this time.

Danzo sat back in his chair. Two of the elders were whispering, their heads pressed close together.

"Where is Sasuke?"

A wizened face poked up to glare down at him. Danzo cleared his throat, the sound echoed around the chamber.

" _You_ will be sent out on the next B ranked mission."

"What?"

"Immediately."

"And Sasuke?" He asked.

"Not your concern."

He opened his mouth to protest. Danzo cut him off before he could finish.

"Prepare your things, you will leave this afternoon with Hatake Kakashi as your captain. Dismissed."

He felt himself pulled up roughly by his bound arms. Forcefully walked out of the room and into the sunlit corridor outside of the ornate council room. His captor stopped in front of a window and he felt the ropes binding him cut loose.

"Not a smart move." A familiar voice behind him. Naruto craned his neck around to see. Yamato shot him a wry smile as he slipped his kunai back into it's sheath.

"You should heed the council. Attacking Sasuke's guards will not endear him to anyone."

"You weren't there." Naruto muttered. He rubbed at his raw wrists.

"They're grateful to you for saving us from Pain. Sasuke, however..." He trailed off.

"Do you know what they're planning to do with him?"

"He's being questioned now. I think he'll be brought back to your apartment afterwards. Your friends put in a good word for him."

Naruto's heart lifted. He laughed in relief.

Yamato smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Do well on your mission. Try to stay out of trouble for a while."

* * *

"-Said he'd be escorted back to my place. So anyway, keep an eye on him please." Naruto had his back turned from her as he zipped up his orange jacket.

Sakura walked around to face him, fists clenched.

"Naruto..this was all my fault. I shouldn't have tried to get everyone-"

"It's fine, not your fault." He said, waving her concerns aside. She noticed the weight he'd been carrying since bringing Sasuke home had not left his shoulders. If anything, the boy had come to look more haggard.

"I'll look out for him." She promised.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Sakura chan."

She watched as he walked down the dirt path toward the front gate. Kakashi in tow. Strange that it was just the two of them on this mission. His description of the meeting with Danzo was also curious. She wouldn't have expected mercy from the likes of their new Hokage.

_Tsunade shishou, when will you come back to us._

They needed the fifth's support. The village was still mending from Pain's attack, and with Danzo in command Sakura had never felt more uneasy. For Naruto to be sent away from the village at such a critical time...

She turned to face the direction of his apartment, her unease giving way to a nervous anticipation. Just for a few minutes before he'd sliced himself, Sasuke had seemed almost kind. Almost the quiet boy she'd spent her girlhood chasing after. Closing her eyes, she remembered him as they'd captured him. His face dark with hatred, blood streaming in rivulets down his cheeks. Had Naruto had such an influence on him, in only a month?

She slid the key in with shaking hands. The door opened with a loud creak.

"Sakura."

Her name rolled across his tongue like a sentence. She felt her face flush with heat. Embarrassed she turned away, not facing the tall Uchiha in the center of the room.

"Sa-Sasuke kun. I'm here to help with your wo-wound. Naruto just left-"

She fell silent as he strode to her, his injured hand outstretched. Wide-eyed her head snapped up to meet his gaze.

Red.

Her mouth dropped open in a silent scream as her eyes went dark. Locked in the sharingan's embrace.


	5. Flower

Snowmelt had turned the dirt to mud. Kakashi's sandals were caked with it. The small ramen stand they'd stopped at for dinner served as shelter from the unending drizzle. Naruto swung his legs as he sat on the stool, dropping dried flakes of dirt with each motion.

"Kakashi sensei" The blonde boy said, a hint of mischief in his tone. "You're treating right?"

The jounin sighed, running a gloved hand through his untamed hair. Had it been so long since he'd found himself on a mission with the boy? Naruto's boundless, youthful energy only served as a reminder of his own deepening lethargy.

"I'm here to guard you on your mission, seems like you should be the one to treat." He said.

"I'm supporting two people with just one income you know!" Naruto's lips twisted upward in an exaggerated pout. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the childish appeal.

"I was under the impression that Sasuke had inherited most of the family wealth, being the only surviving Uchiha."

The blonde boy's eyes dropped to his ramen. A pensive look crossed his eyes.

"Danzo won't let him touch it."

He seemed to struggle with some unspoken complaint before settling back into his food. Warm steam wafted from his own meal, reminding him of his own neglected appetite.

"That is unfortunate." He wondered what would become of the vast sum should Sasuke fail to re-integrate with the village. It seemed likely at least one person on the small council had their eye on it.

"In that case I will treat." He said. "How are things with Sasuke? To be honest I did not expect you two to get along."

Naruto slurped at his noodles, splashing bits of soup onto the table. His mood seemed to dip further as he contemplated his answer.

"I don't know." He admitted. "Some days I think he hates me, other days..." He trailed off.

Kakashi stared into the distorted reflection cast in the brown broth before him.

"Even if he doesn't show it, I think Sasuke must be grateful to you." He said, hesitant to speak on matters he wasn't sure of. "You were the only one to never give up on him. He isn't the type of guy not to notice something like that."

Naruto had ceased digging into his ramen bowl. He sensed a tension running through the boy's body.

"How do you know? How can you tell what someone is thinking?" He asked, his blue eyes rose to meet his sensei's eyes with sudden sincerity.

Kakashi looked away. His mind wandered back to another Uchiha boy.

"I had a friend like Sasuke once." He began. "Or rather, he was more like you. He saved my life, like how you saved Sasuke."

Naruto was watching him intently. His piercing blue stare had the unusual power to compel honesty from those he turned it on. Kakashi had long accepted that he himself was also immune to the boy's strange power.

"Where is he now?" He asked.

"He died, but he left me this." Kakashi smiled darkly and pointed to his hidden Sharingan.

"When someone shows you true loyalty, the way you did for Sasuke, it isn't easily forgotten or ignored." He said. "Your feelings have reached him, whether he shows it to you or not."

The boy nodded and a tension seemed to lift. He became aware again of the sights and sounds around them. A cold breeze worked its way into the little stall, and he tightened the yellow scarf around his neck.

"Let's finish up here Naruto, we're close to the rendezvous point now."

* * *

Ino was closing shop when she heard the bells attached to the front door jingle. Pink hair caught her peripheral.

"Sakura!" She stepped back in surprise. The kunoichi turned away to watch the door behind her, not acknowledging her name.

Sasuke swept into the shop, his footsteps silent. This was her first time seeing the Uchiha since the disastrous attempt at a welcome home party several weeks ago. She knew Sakura had been checking in on him in Naruto's absence, and she'd expected her friend to come to her with stories from her time with him. Yet she hadn't seen the girl in weeks.

He was fair as ever, and his angular features stood out in sharp relief here in the dimly lit shop. He'd lost what little puppy fat he'd had in their genin days and gained several inches of height. Dark hair cascaded almost down to his shoulders. No doubt he'd neglected to bother trimming it since becoming Konoha's reclusive prisoner.

"I'm surprised to see you both here!" She said, for lack of anything better to say. Sakura shot her a tense smile. She seemed on edge, no doubt still unnerved around her former teammate.

"We're here for a flower." Sasuke said. His dark eyes, as usual, saw right through her. As if he was only barely aware of her existence. She wondered, if she asked him her name now, would even be able to answer with it?

"Ah…well. What kind of flower?" She asked.

He looked around, walking slowly through the fragrant rows. She raised a manicured brow at Sakura, who seemed captivated by the boy. He'd stopped in front of a bushel of light pink petals.

"These." He said. Ino's brows creased in surprise. Not a popular brand, the little flowers were rarely sold. She wasn't sure why her parents even chose to stock them.

"Angel's Trumpet." She said, reading the label next to the box. Sasuke promptly plucked a few before turning around to hand one to Sakura. Green eyes widened as the girl took in the gift bestowed on her.

He dropped coins onto the counter and swept out of the shop. Sakura remained in place, holding the flower in trembling hands. Ino matched her shocked expression for a moment before her face split into a wide grin.

"Sakuraaa!" She hissed, watching her friend turn steadily pinker. "You didn't tell me!"

"There's nothing to tell!" The mortified girl insisted, looking down at the flower as though she didn't quite understand what she was holding. Traces of panic were beginning to take hold of her features. Ino frowned, noting the strange reaction come upon her friend.

Light blotted out in the window where Sasuke cast a shadow on the shop. He was leaning against the wood door outside.

"You should go." She insisted, noting that her friend looked too stunned to move. She raised her head to meet Ino's eyes. Fear radiated off of her.

Ino opened her mouth to say something, to question the palpable tension. Sasuke knocked on the door to hurry her and Sakura started. She turned to walk to him, the strange expression slipping from her face as quickly as it had arisen. Ino grabbed at her friend's wrist, holding her still.

"What's going on?" She whispered. The girl's green eyes darted back toward the door. She shook her head, a false smile plastered on her face.

"Nothing Ino. See you later."

She watched the two walk away in stunned silence before turning to lock behind her. Ino took off down the road.

"He did _what_!" Kiba shouted. She'd found half of the rookies at Shikamaru's place. They were seated on the floor around a shogi board.

"Sakura chan must be so happy." Hinata said, pale eyes wide and a small delighted smile on her lips.

"I can't believe this guy, comes back three years later after nearly killing Naruto, and buys flowers." Kiba continued, scratching his head.

Shikamaru was quiet, staring down as if considering his next move. Chouji sat across from him, un-phased by the situation and holding his pieces above the board.

Ino sat next to Hinata. She was silent, her brow furrowed.

"Sakura's reaction was...strange." She began. How best to explain to them the tension she'd felt. Had she imagined the flash of fear in her friend's face?

"Ino." Shikamaru cut in gravely. His shoulders were tensed. "Do you know if there are any special properties associated with the flower he bought?"

The room fell silent as his words sunk in. She frowned.

"Not that I know of…I'll ask my Mom tomorrow, she should know. You don't think.."

"He's been unusually complicit since being captured." Shikamaru said, clear distrust etched into his tone. She dropped her eyes to the carved board before her.

"He grabbed more than one. I didn't see where he put the others.." She said softly, anxiety spread through her chest. Why didn't she check what the plant was used for before selling it to him? He was an S-rank criminal, she should have been more careful.

"Maybe he got the others for Naruto kun?" Hinata suggested gently. Ino smiled, the idea of Sasuke handing Naruto a flower seemed laughable to her.

"I don't see that happening, plus no one even knows when Naruto will return. He's been gone for weeks now." She glanced out the window, as if expecting to see their orange clad friend appear in the distance now.

"Find out what your parents say about the flower, Ino. Let me know will you?" Shikamaru requested, standing up to stretch. "Let's call it a night, I have a feeling we may need to be on our toes tomorrow."

* * *

His fist clenched around the small creature, holding it aloft as he fastened a ribbon around it's hind leg. It's heartbeat frantic against his palm. Pinpricks of blood appeared on his hand as the squirrel bit into him. Naruto shouted in frustration, allowing the pest to scamper off and away from his grasp. This was the 51st animal he'd tagged today.

He spotted Kakashi in the distance, cradling a tortoise against his green vest with some care.

"Sensei!" He called, letting the frustration bleed into his tone. "I am going home. This is a waste of our time. Genin could do these tasks."

For weeks they'd been running errands for a neighboring lord's daughter. The girl had a fascination with the local wildlife which had seemed charming at first. Now, he remembered the spoiled child with burning resentment.

"Well Naruto," Kakashi sighed as he let the small animal loose into the sand. "You technically _are_ a genin."

He bristled.

"You know what I mean!"

"This is your punishment for attacking a fellow leaf shinobi. And a mild one at that." He spoke the last part softly, as though mostly to himself.

"They told me I'd be assigned a B rank mission."

"Yes, well-"

"This is _not_ B rank!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the printed labels brimming out of his pockets.

Kakashi sighed loudly, scratching his forehead beneath the dark shinobi band.

"Sasuke's been all by himself for almost a month now!"

"He's not alone, Sakura-"

"And what about the Akatsuki! They could strike again at any minute!" Naruto continued, he balled his hands into fists, glaring at his former sensei. The jounin drew his hand from his face, turning to appraise the boy fully.

"There was good reason for sending us here, aside from your tiff with Sasuke's guards."

He crossed his arms expectantly, his face twisted in a fierce scowl of disapproval.

"The jinchuriki from Kumogakure was captured by Akatsuki last month."

Cold dread worked it's way into the pit of his stomach. The hated black robes flashed in his vision, emblazoned with red clouds.

"That makes you the last remaining vessel. They are coming for you next, and if they get a hold of you-"

"So they shipped me off to this island, without even telling me why. Damnit!" Naruto slammed his fist against a tree, his fear twisting back into anger. "They didn't think that maybe I deserved to know!"

He calmed suddenly, fingers unclenched.

"I'm going home." He repeated, flatly this time. Not asking for permission.

Kakashi sighed, leaning his head back to gaze at the grey sky above them.

"I guess it can't be helped." He muttered. Three weeks was longer than he'd thought he'd be able to keep the boy in this farce of a quest. He gazed out into the deep woods surrounding the island.

Naruto was already gone.


	6. Poison

**Poison**

The wind whipped through his hair, and as he flew over field and branch he was painfully aware of how alone he was. Kakashi was, no doubt, somewhere behind him. Still, the thought of the Akatsuki lurking in the woods around him, searching for him, filled him with trepidation. He shook his head, disregarding the thought. Soon he would be home. He would demand the truth from the elders, everything they knew. This was his fight more than it was theirs.

Up ahead, he saw the wide red gates break over the horizon. The walls were slowly being rebuilt, still patchy in areas.

He jumped onto the front path, slowing to a walk as he approached the large gates.

"Naruto! That you?" A guard. His tone was friendly.

"Yeah, let me in will you!" Naruto called up. The gates creaked open, and distantly he heard shouting announcing his return.

Taking off down the path he sped towards his apartment.

"Naruto!" He heard a familiar call.

"Sai!" He yelled back, slowing slightly. Several of his class flanked out around his pale friend. Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Ino.. He bit back frustration.

"Finally back, I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit!" He called out to them as they approached. He continued to walk toward his apartment with some speed, hoping they'd take the hint.

"Hold on for a minute!" Shikamaru called, and something in his voice made Naruto pause.

Before they could reach him, he sensed a familiar presence from behind him. His heart leapt into his throat.

He turned and his eyes latched onto Sasuke's. He was walking toward him. Sakura followed a few paces behind.

He took an unconscious step forward.

The Uchiha stopped in front of him. Well within his personal space. Naruto felt his breath catch. Distantly he saw Sakura join with the group, watching.

"Naruto.." Sasuke started. He was so close he could smell him. The scent was familiar. It brought him back to long nights training. A waterfall in a broken valley.

"Miss me?" He tried sound nonchalant, but the words caught in his throat and he heard his own voice crack. His senses felt overloaded. Distantly he was aware that his hands were shaking.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not missing his break in composure.

"Welcome home, usuratonkachi." He said quietly, for Naruto's ears only. He felt his heart accelerate.

He turned to his friends, tossing them a sheepish grin.

"I'm really tired from the mission. I'll catch up with you later."

He turned back to meet Sasuke's eyes again. Every sense seemed attuned to him.

They turned away, heading back toward the apartment in unison.

Sakura made a small noise of protest as they turned to go, reaching her hand out as if to stop them. Sasuke's eyes met hers. For a brief moment his lips drew upward in contempt. Then his dark eyes flashed red. Her hand dropped back to her side.

Confusion traced its way across her face. Thoughts rose in her as if they'd been buried in a deep fog.

"What is it?" Ino asked, noticing the slight stumble. She reached out to her friend to steady her.

"Sorry. It's nothing. I don't know. I feel strange all of the sudden."

Ino and Shikamaru exchanged a sidelong glance. Sakura waved away their concern.

"It's good you're here." Ino began cautiously. "Because we need to talk to you about Sasuke."

Shikamaru watched Sakura carefully as Ino explained what she'd learned about Sasuke's purchase. The flowers were poisonous, deadly upon ingestion. The kunoichi's lower lip trembled as she took it in. Her eyes wet with unspilled tears. He looked away.

"He bought a handful. He gave you one, do you know what he did with the others?"

Sakura shook her head. Her chin crumpled and she sank to her knees.

"I don't know. And..there's more than that." She said. Ino and Hinata dropped down beside her. They glanced up at him now with wide, panicked eyes.

"I feel...I feel strange. I don't remember a flower. I don't remember what we did yesterday, or the day before that." Her voice was trembling, tears were spilling out now onto the dry dirt. Ino gathered her in her arms.

"We need to take her to the infirmary." She said.

Shikamaru kneeled down before Sakura.

"What is the last thing you remember?" He asked calmly. Her wet face tilted up towards his.

"Sasuke…" She said.

"And?" He pressed.

"I don't know. I remember the sharingan.."

"Genjutsu." Sai said. He dropped next to the girl, reaching out to steady her. She sought to recompose herself.

"How is that possible, the seals should prevent him from using his sharingan."

"I don't know, but that must be it. He's had her caught in it for weeks." Neji's byakugan was active, analyzing her chakra signature.

"Check Naruto." Shikamaru said urgently. Neji looked out at the direction the two had left in. Veins rippled around his eyes as the byakugan extended it's range, searching through the crowd for the pair.

"His chakra levels look normal. Sasuke too. He is still bound by the seals at every point."

"How could that be?"

"It's Sasuke we're dealing with, we don't know what he learned in the years he was with Orochimaru." Shikamaru reminded the group. His lips tightened with visible anger.

"What do we do? Do we go to the Hokage?" Ino asked. She grabbed Sakura's hand in a show of support. The pink haired girl had dried her eyes. She stood.

"Danzo.." Sai said, etching dislike into every syllable. "Danzo cannot be trusted."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement, remembering his description of his years in Danzo's Root organization.

"They'll have Sasuke assassinated without trial if they suspect him of plotting something. They might have plans in place for it anyway." He continued.

"Would that really be…such a bad outcome?" Neji asked quietly. Sakura's hand clenched at her side.

"It would break Naruto." Shikamaru said after a pause. "We should try to avoid that outcome if possible."

"But we have to tell someone." Ino said.

Sakura shook her head no, meeting each of her friend's eyes individually.

"We can't." She said.

"Sakura, Naruto's life could be in danger." Neji said. "We cannot do nothing."

She closed her eyes, continuing to shake her head against it.

"I won't do this. He didn't hurt me. We don't know why he cast the genjutsu."

"Sakura" Shikamaru's voice was raised in frustration. "Think about what you're saying."

"I won't do this. Not now that we finally have him back."

"Sakura-"

"It's not just her, it's Naruto too." Kiba exploded in frustration. "The damned Uchiha has a hold on both of them. For all we know Naruto already knows that Sasuke is up to something. He attacked an ANBU for him."

Ino met his eyes, and he saw a conclusion brimming in them that he knew was reflected in his own.

"There's no way. Naruto would not betray Konoha or allow his friends to be hurt." Lee said.

"We don't know that. Sakura's been walking around in a genjutsu for weeks. For all we know he has Naruto under something too. "

"His chakra points-"

"What if it's something the byakugan can't see? Does anyone here really know what the sharingan can do? None of us know anything about him or what he's capable of anymore."

"He should never have been allowed back in the village!"

"That's it. I'm going to the Hokage." Kiba said. He turned toward the tower at the center of the village.

"No!"

"Wait!" Shikamaru grabbed Kiba by the forearm, holding him still. "I have a plan."


	7. Photo

Ino fought the urge to stretch. Her legs were tucked against her chest. Pin pricks warned that her feet had fallen asleep during the long watch.

Shikamaru sat a few feet above her. Sakura and Neji below. The Hyuuga had chosen this spot to avoid the ever watchful gaze of the ANBU guards patrolling the training grounds.

The blonde rolled off the ground, shaking dirt off his orange pants. He'd been pinned by the final move. Sasuke stood over him with his arms crossed, observing with a tangible smugness.

"I want another round!"

"I beat you with my hands bound. Another round will change nothing." The Uchiha said lazily.

Naruto bristled.

"You say that now! One more turn. I'll wipe that look right off your face."

Sasuke's low chuckle floated over the grounds. He shook his head, amused.

"You never did know when to give up."

The laughter seemed to throw Naruto off. He grinned up at him.

"You know it."

The two had stopped moving. Ino tensed. Now was the moment. Shikamaru's shadow stretched down the tree and across the grass, toward the unsuspecting pair. She held her hands forward at the ready. Naruto stiffened almost imperceptibly as the shadow bind took hold.

She invaded the jinchuuriki's consciousness with surprising ease. The boy slipped away and she gained control of the body.

Sasuke was directly in front of her now. His amusement, perceivable from meters away, was even more apparent here. The corners of his mouth were twisted upward in a small smile. Naruto's body was warm and alive. His heart still pounding from the spar.

She fought to adjust to the new sensations. Color more vivid. Sounds more perceptible. Was this the fox's influence?

"We..ahhh." It felt strange hearing Naruto's voice come out of her mouth. "Want to go for a walk?"

The smile had slipped off of Sasuke's face now. Replaced by his typical stoicism. He shrugged.

She took that as a yes and took the lead. Neji, Shikamaru, and Sakura trailed not far behind. Their presence, she noted, was completely masked. They'd done well to hide themselves. Or maybe they were just blocked out by Sasuke's presence. It seemed to invade her new senses at all times. She was overwhelmingly aware of his positioning around her. In this body every aspect of the Uchiha was familiar. From the light footsteps to the faint smell of him. She found herself almost able to predict where he'd step next.

"Soo." She began. "What do you think about the village?"

Way to be blunt. She cursed herself. They'd rehearsed what she was meant to say, but somehow the lines slid from her memory. Naruto's heart was still pounding, distracting her thoughts.

Sasuke said nothing. She chanced a glance at his face. Impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Why ask that now?"

"I just..ahh..I worry that you're not happy here."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. The chains around his hands clinked a reminder of his captivity.

"Ma-maybe a stupid question." She stuttered out.

Sasuke stopped walking. The distance between them closed as he turned and stepped uncomfortably close to her. She swallowed.

"I am not planning to attack the village, if that's what you're asking." He said coldly. The hair around his forehead was still damp from the sweat of their fight. She dropped her gaze back to his eyes, shrinking from the intensity.

"It's not that..I..I was thinking." She felt her face flushing. "I could break you out of here, if you want it."

His eyebrows creased in a hint of confusion.

"I told you before. No. Don't bring it up again." He turned away. She exhaled the breath she'd been holding.

_'Told you before.'_ Did that mean Naruto had already offered to free him? It was Shikamaru's idea to offer this to the Uchiha. If escape was what he was after, it seemed likely that he would jump on the opportunity. If that wasn't it, then what had he cast the genjutsu for?

"But why-"

Pain lanced through her head and she cut off with a harsh gasp. She clutched her forehead with both hands and moaned. A sinister presence was pushing it's way into her consciousness. She bit her lip, tasting blood.

_Little girl._

A deep voice filled her mind. She stifled a scream.

_You do not belong here._

The pain was suffocating. She fought to push the presence away.

"Naruto!" Sasuke grabbed her arm, pulled her hand away from her face. She looked up to meet red eyes. The sharingan was swirling into an unfamiliar pattern. His face darkened into fury.

"Ino." He said.

"How can you-"

"Get. out." He snarled. She formed the release seal, shaking. The kyuubi continued to lash at her mind, lancing pain into her core. Naruto's senses faded into darkness as she launched backwards to her own body.

Her feet were still prickling from lack of blood flow. Shikamaru stood over her protectively.

"Sorry." She bit out. "He knows."

* * *

Akamaru bounded around the apartment, his bushy tail whipping against the furniture. Kiba whistled, bringing the dog to his side.

"He hasn't found anything?" Shino asked.

"Just mess. Naruto's been back in town for less than two days and he's already dumped clothes all over his floor." Kiba kicked a shirt over with his toe.

"He should be able to pick up a trace of it though right? He just had them."

"Maybe Ino gave us the wrong flower to track." Kiba scratched his head. Even with his superior senses he was unable to pick up a whiff of it.

Sai was digging through Sasuke's clothes. They were neatly folded in Naruto's dresser.

"Are these guys sleeping in the same bed?" Chouji asked, looking around the room with some discomfort.

"No way, Sasuke's scent is all over the couch." Kiba said. He ruffled through some of the papers covering Naruto's desk.

Chouji flipped up the covers, eyeing the pillows suspiciously.

"They do spend a _lot_ of time together."

"Stop, don't give me that image." Kiba muttered. He left the room. Akamaru trailed behind him through the narrow hallway.

Hinata was out on the couch, kneeling over something. Her dark hair curtained in front of her face.

"Did you find something?" He asked. The other boys filed into the living room behind him.

"J-just…" She trailed off. Kiba walked around next to her, crouching down beside her. In her hands was a small wrinkled photograph. Dark creases distorted the image where it had been bent and pocketed. A young team seven beamed up from the faded image.

"That's the team picture we all took after graduating academy." He said. "It's definitely Sasuke's."

She nodded.

"I found it with his things. He doesn't have a lot..but…" She looked up at the others. "He-he kept this after all of that time."

* * *

Naruto's consciousness returned to him. He blinked the darkness out of his vision. Dewey grass was bunched under his palms. He was on the ground.

Sasuke was on his knees next to him, clutching his eyes tightly.

"What.." Naruto crawled next to him, leaning against him.

"What's going on?" He asked. The last thing he remembered was finishing the spar.

"Your friends." Sasuke ground out.

He looked around the clearing, not seeing anyone. The ANBU, surprisingly, had not jumped down to join them. A yellow glow lit the clearing as he entered sage mode, scanning for chakra signatures.

Ino, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Neji were bunched together a short way away. They were approaching in formation. He rose to his feet.

"Naruto.." Shikamaru had his hands raised out in a placating manner. Ino couldn't seem to meet his eyes.

"What is this about?"

Sasuke had yet to move his hand from his face, still struggling with some phantom pain.

"Mind transfer jutsu." Neji answered shortly. He held a kunai at the ready.

"You…" He turned to glance down at Sasuke, then back at his friends. "You tried to use me to spy on him." His voice was rising. He could feel anger licking its way through him.

_Always too trusting_

The kyuubi's voice rang in his ears.

_The Uchiha could see her within us with those eyes of his…you were helpless. As usual._

Sakura's face was a mask of horror, mirrored by the others. The monster was coming out in front of them, sweeping up over his form. He sought to push it down. The smell of burning flesh hit the air as his skin began to sear from the chakra cloak.

He was roughly turned around by a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke pulled him to face him, his face inches away. Blood pooled in his lower lids as the sharingan flared back to life.

They were standing in ankle deep water. The kyuubi's cage rose in front of them, immense in presence. Sasuke walked to it, staring down the enormous beast within.

_Uchiha_

The beast rumbled out the word as it approached the bars to meet it's visitor. It's enormous red eyes glared down at the two of them. The seal on his stomach ached. He lifted his shirt to find the black ink clearly visible on his skin.

"Down." A single command.

The fox was pushed away from the bars as Sasuke's distinctive chakra signature filled the space. It howled, the nightmarish sound echoed across the flooded chamber.

"Sasuke kun!"

Sakura's shout. He blinked back into reality. The kyuubi's chakra had all but vanished around him. His friends were closer, encircling him. Sasuke had dropped to his knees, blood dripped from his face in rivulets.

A healing glow appeared around Sakura's hands and she reached for him. He brushed her away.

"That won't help." He bit out.

Naruto met Sakura's wide, panicked eyes with his own.

"What's happening?" Shikamaru was staring at Sasuke's bent, bloodied form with confusion.

Naruto stood in between them, glaring down the group.

"Leave." He spat at them.

"Naruto-"

"Go!"

Sakura was crying. He felt some of the anger give way at the clear remorse on her face.

Shikamaru tugged at her sleeve, pulling her away from the scene. Neji trailed behind the group, looking behind one last time as they walked away.

Naruto did not see. He was on his knees before the Uchiha, wiping blood from his face even as more came down.

"You subdued the fox..." He whispered. "You can control the kyuubi."

Sasuke raised his head. His eyes opened to reveal pearly white orbs.

"Not anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow chapter release lately. I've just moved across the US to the West coast, taking away from my fanfiction time :)


	8. Snow

His hands were slippery with blood. The iron smell of it turned his stomach. Sasuke's wrist slid in his grasp, smeared with red. He guided him through the empty, destroyed remains of a neighborhood. What few onlookers they ran across observed them through narrow, suspicious eyes.

It was no surprise. They picked their way through where the worst destruction had occured in Pain's attack. Clearly wishing to remain unbothered. Sasuke's cheeks were smeared with bloody residue. His gait uneven as Naruto guided him blind over the rubble. His own baby blues were wide and wild. Darting around as though expecting an attack from every abandonded corner.

"We aren't moving towards your apartment." Sasuke broke the silence.

Naruto shook his head. Forgetting for a moment that the boy he led could no longer see his gesture.

"We are we're just...taking the long route." He said. Dust from the destroyed housing still seemed to choke the air here, weeks after the attack.

"Why?"

Naruto turned to glance at the boy behind him. His unseeing eyes were open wide, as if searching for a hint of light in the darkness.

"I don't trust the villagers." He answered honestly. _I don't trust them around you._

Sasuke did not respond, focused on navigating the torn street they walked over.

He was strong enough to protect them both, so long as he was with him. How many in this village harbored fear and hatred against him? The dark prodigy who had submitted to a powerful enemy. Tensions ran high in the aftermath of the Akatsuki attack. Alerting the world of this new vulnerability was the last thing he wanted.

"When we get back, tell me what's happening. Why your eyes are like this." He said.

"It's the sharingan." Sasuke said flatly. "This is the price of using the magekyou."

Naruto stopped and glanced around them, searching for prying eyes. Not wanting to be overheard.

"Is it reversible?" He whispered.

The Uchiha hesitated. His lips clenched.

"No." He said.

Naruto's grip on the pale wrist tightened. He turned away and continued to lead them through the destruction. They were close to his apartment now, then though could talk freely. Or as freely as possible while under the constant watch of the ANBU. He wondered where their spectators were now, hidden somewhere around them in the rubble.

"You shouldn't have used it back there." He ground out. The watery tomb of the kyuubi swam in his vision. Guilt pricked at his heart. "I was fine. I had it under control."

"Did you?" Sasuke questioned quietly.

He spun to face him. Taken aback again by the white film covering the other boy's eyes.

"It wasn't worth this." He gestured at the blank gaze.

"You're losing control to it. More and more. I can sense its presence even now." Sasuke said. His words were spoken with a calm finality, leaving no room for debate. "What happens when it takes over completely?"

A low rumbling filled his consciousness, as if the fox sought to emphasize the Uchiha's point with its own warning. He felt its cynical amusement, the foreign emotion emanated from his gut.

"It won't." He promised. But his father's warning rang in his ears. There would be no second chance. If the fox took over again, he would lose himself to it entirely.

Sasuke leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

"If they realize how close you are to losing it, I won't be the only one in chains."

He found himself frozen. Sasuke did not pull away. Their cheeks brushed and he felt heat rush to his face. The smell of him was overpowering and he found it unbearably intoxicating. He felt warm lips press against his cheek and his legs threatened to give. He buried his nose in the crook of the others neck, breathing in the scent of him. Deep down, he had known that this is what they were coming to. Had always known what the look in Sasuke's eyes meant when he gazed at him. That their obsession with each other had edged beyond friendship or rivalry years ago. What they were now he couldn't say, but pressed like this against the other he found himself warmed to the soul.

He pulled away, and as the dusty air around them filled his senses he felt his mind clear.

"I will become Hokage." He said it loud, for their ANBU guards to hear as well. "And I will change this village." He added the last part as a promise, not just to Sasuke but to himself.

* * *

Distantly, she was aware that it was cold.

A light snow had started. The wet flakes dripped onto her exposed arms. She felt her lower lip trembling as her teeth began to chatter. Her gaze was focused on the West, towards the worst destruction in the village. Wrapped on two distant objects, made clear by her bloodline trait. The byakugan always caused a slight headache when used for too long, and she felt that pressure now. A slight pain around her temples.

"Hinata, you should put your coat on." Kiba said, noticing her immobile form.

"Yes.." She said. The image of the two was burned into her minds eye. Naruto's chakra signature had always been easy to find, immense as it was. Accompanied by Sasuke, the two had stood out to her like a beacon on the horizon. Wrapped in an embrace, the light that they had emanated overshadowed any other presence around them.

The radio in her ear cackled to life.

"We're heading to you now." Shikamaru's static ridden voice carried over the airways. "Do you have sight of them?"

Reality seemed to seep in around her. She felt the cold. Heard her friends. Akamaru brushed against her limp hand, the white dog buried his wet nose in her palm.

"A-Abort." She stuttered out.

There was silence for a moment. Kiba turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"What?" Shikamaru asked over the radio, as if he hadn't heard her properly.

"Abort mission." She said more firmly now. She strode into action, shaking the snow from her jacket and wrapping it around herself. "Rendezvous at Sakura's."

She was aware that her heart was breaking. The pain that flooded up to her eyes could only mean one thing. Sakura's home rose up in front of her. The pink haired girl herself was waiting at the doorstep. Her eyes were red with recently shed tears. Had she seen as well? Was she crying as her own hope broke within her?

"What was that about, Hinata?" Neji asked, lips twisted downward in a frown. "Why did you call everyone off?"

All eyes were on her now. Shyness clenched her jaw closed. She shook her head mutely. Shikamaru sighed heavily in frustration.

"Wait a minute." Kiba said suddenly. He sniffed the cold air. "I caught the scent!"

Attention diverted to the Inuzuka. Akamaru pawed at Sakura's door, whining. Her mother opened it, clearly surprised to see them gathered around the house.

"Hello-" She started. Interrupted as the dog bounded up the stairs. Kiba followed hot on his heels.

The group pressed into Sakura's bedroom. Kiba stood against the window, holding a small stone bowl.

"Is that-"

"A mortar and pestle." Sakura said, her eyes were wide with surprise.

"The flower's scent is all over this." Kiba said, he turned to hold it up high for the others to see.

"What in the world." Ino said.

"He must have used you while you were under genjutsu to make something, some kind of concoction." Shikamaru said, he brow was furrowed deeply. "This just further proves that he's plotting something."

The small bedroom was overcrowded with shinobi. Sakura's mother stood in the hallway, ushering them out back into the dreary snowfall.

"We need to tell Naruto. Now." Neji said once they had returned outside. She felt her heart freeze at his sentence. Again the vision of the two locked in an embrace flashed before her.

Shikamaru was watching her silently, his brow still furrowed. She rose her eyes to meet his gaze and shook her head silently.

"Why not?" He asked her directly, quietly. "Hinata, tell me what you saw."

She felt her lips trembling again, no longer from the cold.

"N-Naruto won't listen to us." She said, her voice broke.

"Because he's in love with Sasuke."


	9. Sight

Naruto leaned his head back, burying his blonde locks further into the scarf wrapped around his neck. Sticking his tongue out, he caught a snowflake on the tip and felt it melt.

He was seated on Hokage Mountain. Konoha sprawled out below blanketed in snow. A gentle breeze lifted the smell of the village to them. Naruto thought he could just barely pick out Ichiraku.

The air was unusually still, all noise trapped by the soft drifts. Sasuke sat to his right, a dark blue cloak draped around his shoulders. The Uchiha's eyes were blank. It'd been weeks since he'd used the last of his sharingan to subdue the kyuubi. Since then Naruto had found himself blessedly free of the fox's dark influence.

"Sasuke.." He murmured, and felt the dark haired shinobi stir beside him.

"Just checking that you're awake." He finished, flashing him an unseen smile. He thought he saw a hint of warmth light the Uchiha's empty eyes.

"Who could sleep with how much you chatter." He said. The words were devoid of any real irritation.

Naruto held his smile, eyes dropping back to the village. How things had changed. From here the Akatsuki felt like a far off nightmare. He allowed himself to hope that they'd collapsed, torn apart from within with their leader defeated.

He stood and shook the snow off his pants. Sasuke rose beside him silently.

"Want to spar?" He asked, gesturing up at the woods behind the mountain. A pointless movement, he realized immediately, he hadn't been able to shake the habit of gesturing to his blind companion.

"Sure."

They assumed fighting stance. Naruto picked a clearing free from stumps or debris. Sasuke had gotten better at moving around without his sight, but it was easy to trip.

"One second." Naruto called out. He untied his headband from his forehead and refastened it in front of his eyes.

"Okay, go!" He leapt into action. Fighting without sight was a whole new experience. His ears immediately became his most valuable tool. Every shift and movement of Sasuke's feet told him where he was coming from.

He dodged a blow aimed for his torso, springing away hand over foot.

"You're fighting blind." Sasuke said, and Naruto heard him stop short. "Why are you doing that?"

"It's only fair!" Naruto called back, tightening the headband around his face.

"A real enemy will not fight fair." He replied.

Naruto pulled the headband down, holding it next to him.

"You…" He began, and then hesitated. What was he about to say? _'You can't win any fights like this anyway.'_

He kicked at the snow in frustration. Sasuke stood perfectly still, listening. He hurt for him. Ached to see him reduced to this.

"Do you know how Kakashi sensei got his Sharingan?" He asked. Sasuke's eyes widened subtly.

"It was gifted to him by a dying Uchiha." He replied shortly.

"What if we…did that. Swapped I mean. One of mine for one of yours." He walked to him. Reached out to grip his bound hands in his own. They were cold and gloveless.

"That would work right? That way we could both see."

Sasuke looked away, his brows creased as if in pain.

"I can't let you do that."

Naruto tightened his hold on the other boy.

"I want to." He said, taking a step closer still. He could feel Sasuke's breath on his face. Clouds of condensation brushed against his cheeks as the other boy exhaled in the cold. Sasuke leaned forward into him, pressing their foreheads together.

There was a crack above them, and Naruto glanced up to see a white mask dart behind a tree. Their ANBU guards were observing closely.

"Always watching." He muttered.

Still Sasuke did not draw back. He brushed his lips across Naruto's. Heat rose to color his face.

"We should go." He said shakily, embarrassed by their proximity. His blood was pounding through him.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment more before pulling back. His lips drew lazily across Naruto's cheek as he moved away.

"Yeah."

* * *

"The call has been made for a 5 Kage summit. The Hokage will be leaving the village within the coming weeks to attend." A jounin announced from the steps next to Hokage tower. A crowd of shinobi had congregated around to hear. Distressed murmuring spread through the crowd. It was still too soon after the Akatsuki's attack. A feeling of security had yet to return to the people of the village.

Kakashi watched this with no surprise, having already been briefed.

"In Danzo's absence, Hatake Kakashi has been appointed interim Hokage in his stead."

He exhaled as the people around him turned to shoot him furtive glances. The path cleared to the podium before him. The jounin on the steps bowed his head in deference.

"The Hokage will return shortly, in the meantime we will continue to focus on repairs and re-strengthening the defense of the village." Kakashi said, projecting his voice above the crowd. Near the center, he picked out a familiar blond mess of hair. Naruto was watching. Sasuke stood slightly behind him, his head bowed to obscure his face. A dark bandana was wrapped in front of his eyes.

He finished his speech and turned to walk out of the crowd, watching from his peripheral as his two former students worked their way after him.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto's familiar yell reverberated above the clamour.

"If it isn't two of my three favorite students." He said, feigning surprise.

"You've only ever had three students." Naruto reminded him. He glanced at Sasuke, taking in his appearance. He had only seen the boy a handful of times since his forced return to the village.

"Congratulations." Sasuke said courteously. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, surprised he'd bothered speaking at all. Perhaps the blonde was rubbing off on him.

"We have a favor to ask." Naruto said, voice buzzing with excitement.

"Yes.." Kakashi said hesitantly.

"It's about your sharingan!" Naruto continued, undeterred by his teacher's reluctance. Kakashi's visible eye widened, already guessing where this conversation was going.

"Can you do that for Sasuke and me? Switch one of our eyes." He implored.

Kakashi's gaze bounced between the two, Naruto brimming with determination. Sasuke, reserved.

"No. It requires medical ninjutsu to be done safely. And Naruto, you will need your vision in the days to come." He said flatly, watching disappointment fall over his former pupil's face. Sasuke remained impassive.

"Kakashi sensei." Naruto's tone took on an annoying whine.

He turned away, waving his hand at them dismissively.

"Final answer. Sasuke, I'm sorry, but I will not allow this."

He left the boys, sensing the disappointment radiating off of Naruto in waves. He hadn't learned why Sasuke's eyes had begun to fade. Only in the last month had he began to cover them. It was clear in the way the two walked now. Naruto always in front, guiding, and Sasuke never more than a few steps behind.

He would need to gather the medics and direct them to ignore Naruto's request should he come to them. He predicted they would seek out Sakura next.

Turning, he headed for the kunoichi.

Arriving at the quaint home, he knocked on the door. An older man answered, eyes widening in recognition.

"Kakashi san!" He said, surprise evident. He reflected that this was the first time asking for his student at her residence.

"May I have a word with Sakura?" He asked politely. The older Haruno called up the stairs. Sakura rushed down, meeting him outside after hastily wrapping a scarf around her neck.

"Let's take a walk." He suggested. They left toward the village center.

"You may guess why I am here." He started.

"Don't tell me." She said with a sigh. "Naruto and Sasuke."

"They came to me requesting help in transferring one of Naruto's eyes to Sasuke, restoring his vision."

Sakura gasped.

"They were, no doubt, inspired by my own case." He continued. "I have forbidden them from attempting this, but I suspect they will come to you asking for aid."

She shook her head.

"Unbelievable, leave it to Naruto to try something like this."

"Naruto has always been…very eager to do what he can for his friends." Kakashi stated blandly.

"More than eager when it comes to Sasuke.." She said, looking away. Kakashi said nothing, noting the tension in her jaw.

"Kakashi sensei, some of us have been, well, worried about the two of them."

He waited for her to continue.

"Naruto has refused to go on any missions since his last one, and we hardly ever see him anymore. When he does come out, Sasuke is always with him." She ran a hand through her hair distractedly.

"And Sasuke, well I guess he isn't that different from how he was before, but still. I don't know if we can really trust him." She finished with a sigh, glancing up at him to try and ascertain his expression. He sensed that there was more yet that she wanted to say, but the girl held her tongue.

They walked in silence for a moment. He had noticed Naruto's withdrawn behavior since the Uchiha's arrival. After spending three years training relentlessly for the purpose of retrieving his lost friend, it was hardly a surprise that he would spend the first few months watching over him closely. Sakura was also unaware of the true purpose behind Naruto's disastrous island mission.

"I'm surprised you're not more overjoyed to have Sasuke returned to us." Kakashi noted casually. "Of all people, I thought you would be the most pleased."

Sakura blushed.

"I am happy he is home, but sensei.." She stopped, turning to face him. "I'm really concerned for Naruto."

Kakashi said nothing, surprised to note the honest fear in her eyes.

"I will keep a closer eye on them." He promised. "If there is something going on, I have no doubt you'll be the first to see it."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sasuke asked again, hesitating.

"Scared?" Naruto gibed.

Sasuke said nothing, frowning.

They were seated in the hallway of Naruto's apartment, away from the windows. Naruto was aware their Hyuuga guard could activate byakugan at any moment and see what they were doing. They had only a few minutes before their absence raised suspicion.

"Alright, here we go." He said.

He raised his right hand, noting that his fingers were trembling. He reached out to Sasuke with his left, grasping his long fingers for support. Their movements mirrored each other. Naruto forced his chakra into his fingers, creating a precise blade. He severed the optic nerve with as much precision as he could, clenching his teeth through the pain. Sasuke was gripping his left hand with enough strength to crush it.

"Ready." He gasped out through clenched teeth.

Sasuke reached toward him, his eye dangling in his grasp grotesquely. Naruto repressed the urge to vomit.

He reached into the empty socket, guiding the squishy bulb. Once in, he did his best to force his chakra to bring the severed ends of the nerve together.

He dropped his hand, the transfer complete. Sasuke did the same. Slowly, he blinked open his new right eye, and stared into a familiar blue orb.

Sasuke's expression was soft, almost childlike with wonder and he reached out to touch Naruto's right cheek. His fingers traced the hollow of his eye beneath the newly implanted sharingan.

"It worked."

Naruto's face cracked into a wide grin.

"We did it!" He shouted, bounding up. He ran to the bathroom to look into the mirror. His right eye was red, three tomoes glared out at him from under his dark lashes.

"How come I can see?" He asked, blinking the eye at himself. Sasuke followed him into the room, examining his new cerulean orb in the mirror closely. Naruto turned to him, gesturing at his new eye excitedly. "Does this mean I can use the sharingan!"

Sasuke nodded, brow creased.

"I will train you how to use it properly."

Naruto grinned, striking a pose.

"Now I am the copy ninja!" He shouted. "Watch out Kakashi!"

Sasuke's lips twisted in amusement. He examined his own blue eye in the mirror. Naruto admired the contrast the light shade made against the dark lashes.

"We match." He pointed out lamely, unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face.

A smile lit the Uchiha's face as well, seemingly unbidden.

"Usuratonkachi."

* * *

Nausea crept at her stomach, as it often did lately. Naruto was talking, oblivious of her discomfort. Her wide eyes were fixed on his. The familiar blue was paired with the crimson red of the sharingan. The bloody shade tore into her mind. The weeks spent under genjutsu had yet to come back to her. To see that loathsome pattern on Naruto's face was devastating in a way she didn't fully understand.

"And Konohamaru's really itching to learn the rasen-shuriken. I can't have him copying all of my moves though can I." Naruto continued to ramble. She found herself unable to follow the conversation.

The ever present Uchiha shadow was nowhere to be seen on this day. Naruto had come out to join his comrades for a quick lunch unaccompanied. Still somehow she felt the dark presence. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"It'd be hard for him to copy all of your techniques now." Shikamaru pointed out. Sakura glanced at his face. His features were purposefully controlled, but she saw the hint of disgust as he examined Naruto's red eye.

Naruto chuckled, running a tanned hand through his hair. He seemed almost abashed.

"Sasuke's been teaching me how to use it. It really is incredible what the Uchiha were capable of." He said. The atmosphere seemed to chill at the mention of the name. Silence fell among the little group of Shinobi.

"Where is Sasuke kun today?" Hinata chimed in. Her voice quavered in the stillness.

"He's at home. Probably reading. I brought him some actual books so he has something to do all day aside from follow me around." He said. A wide smile stretched across his cheeks. "He reads really fast. It's tough to keep up with him."

The others said nothing, as if afraid that by saying the Uchiha's name he would be summoned to them. They were gathered in a park outside, basking in the weak sunlight. Sakura shivered in her jacket.

"Actually, I should probably get back." Naruto said. He rose to stand. She felt panic grip her chest.

"You just got here. We haven't seen you in weeks!" She said. The words rushed out with more force than she had intended. He froze.

"Yeah...sorry about that guys." He said. He smiled sheepishly. "I know I haven't been out much lately."

Shikamaru rose. He clapped his hand onto Naruto's shoulder.

"If you ever need us, you know where we are." He said. His jaw was set, biting back words best left unspoken. Naruto seemed overwhelmed.

"I know guys. I'll see you around." He turned to leave, headed back towards the residential side of the village.

She caught Shikamaru's eye and saw the despair there. As Naruto walked away, a darkly cloaked figure fell in step behind him. Even from this distance, Sakura could pick out Sasuke's characteristic stride as he walked by Naruto's side. The blonde turned his head toward him. The slightest gesture of acknowledgment.

"There are no guards around them." Hinata said sadly. Her byakugan was active. She hadn't missed the scene.

"It's just as we thought." Neji said. "He's been sneaking him away from the ANBU."

Sakura felt cold.

"His eyes..." She moaned. Tears were welling up in her eyes. How many nights had she longed for Sasuke to return? For their team to be as one again. Now that he was back she wished she'd never heard his name.

"This has gone too far."

Kiba stood.

"I'm going to the Hokage."

"You can't.."

"We're losing him." He burst out. "Look at them. It's..it's unnatural."

The group fell silent. Eyes shifting to avoid each others gaze.

"What..do you mean exactly?" Neji asked.

Kiba kicked at the ground. He looked away.

"You know what I mean...the way they're always...that they're together like that."

Hinata's pale cheeks flushed with color.

Kiba cursed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"It doesn't matter if they are or not." Shikamaru sighed. "What matters is Naruto's safety and the safety of the village. We don't know if we can trust Sasuke."

"It does matter. Naruto just _lied_ to us. Naruto. Since when has he ever lied in his life?"

"Lied?"

Kakashi's shock of silver hair appeared in a cloud of dust. The jounin leaned casually against the table the rookies were gathered around.

Tension rippled round the group as the silence stretched in response.

"Sakura, what's this about lying?" Her sensei focused on her, eyebrow raised.

She bit her lip, hands clenched.

"Naruto's been sneaking Sasuke away from his guards!" Chouji broke the silence. He avoided her gaze, chubby face pinched in discomfort.

"That is a problem." Kakashi said, he peered around the small group. "There is more going on here, I gather?"

The lie that they'd collectively kept seemed to rush outward now. The seal of silence between the group was broken.

"Sasuke bought poisonous flowers from my parents shop-"

"And Naruto and him..Naruto and him.."

"He had Sakura in a genjutsu, we don't even know for how long-"

"We knew we should have come to our superiors, but we thought we could figure it out on our own."

Kakashi raised a hand to silence the distraught outpouring.

"Sakura." He turned to her, the only of the rookies yet to speak.

"Why didn't you come to me, aren't I also a part of team 7?"

Heat rushed to her eyes now as tears began to gather. The disappointment in his face cut her to the core.

"I'm sorry sensei." She worked out. "Please, just please don't let them take Sasuke away again."


	10. Avenger

Danzo examined the two young shinobi before him over steepled fingers. Kakashi stood behind them, grey brows furrowed beneath his headband.

"This behavior will not be tolerated." Danzo growled out.

Naruto's lips curled back in distaste.

"How did you place Haruno Sakura under a genjutsu?"

Sasuke said nothing. His face was twisted into a mask of hate as he glared down at the resident Hokage.

Naruto whipped around to face Kakashi.

"What is he talking about?"

Kakashi cleared his throat, addressing the room.

"Several of your peers spoke with me last night." He met eyes with Danzo, subduing a shudder as the older man hunched inward to hear him. The greedy glee in his face pushed out through the wrinkles. He'd never seen the stoic man so excited.

"They confessed to have kept a secret from their superiors over the last several weeks. While Naruto and I were away on our last mission, Sasuke placed Sakura under a prolonged genjutsu. For the purpose of which she does not know."

Naruto turned to Sasuke, clenching the boy's arms on either side.

"What are they talking about?" He was only speaking to Sasuke now. A kind of wild desperation tore at his face as he pleaded with the other boy to explain. The Uchiha looked away.

"Sasuke is hereby removed from your custody. He will remain under ANBU guard, but confined in an interrogation cell until we can establish exactly what has happened." Sasuke shot a glare at Kakashi with Naruto's eye, the blue shades shifting with ire. Kakashi repressed a shudder at the unfamiliar sight.

"Naruto, you will accompany me to the Kage summit."

Naruto exploded, slamming a hand onto the Hokage's wooden desk. The Anbu guards behind them shifted, tensed at full alert.

"You are not taking Sasuke, and I am not going anywhere!" He shouted. Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. This was going over about as well as he had expected.

"I will, and you are. Tsunade was clearly too lenient with you, her soft ways dampened her judgement. You are speaking to your Hokage and you will _obey_." Danzo's fingers tightened on the desk.

"You're not the Hokage, Tsunade baa-chan is. You will never be the Hokage." Naruto leaned forward as he spoke, spittle flying towards Danzo's darkened face.

"Naruto calm down!" Kakashi warned, stepping toward him. His words went unheeded.

"Suppress the jinchuriki, take the Uchiha to his cell." Danzo barked at the ANBU. Kakashi tensed. The way Naruto was now, he would not go without a fight.

"Like hell!" The blond shouted, feet widening into an aggressive stance. Sasuke mirrored him, their backs against each other. The ANBU circled, raising their kunai before their chests. Kakashi watched with horror as Naruto's aura shimmered with red. The kyuubi was making its presence known. He turned to the guard at the door.

"Find Tenzou! We need him here _now_." The man hesitated, glancing at Danzo before dashing out.

"Naruto! Calm down, you need to stay in control of yourself." He said. Danzo's eyes narrowed as he observed the red chakra seeping from Naruto's form.

The ANBU closest to the boys lunged. Sasuke dropped to his knees, catching the approaching man by the shin and holding him as Naruto's foot swung over to collide with the white mask. As always, Kakashi observed, their unspoken coordination was flawless.

"Both of you stop this." He began to weave the signs for a water style ninjutsu.

"Naruto." Sasuke said sharply. "Focus your chakra on the mangekyou sharingan. Remember what I taught you?"

Kakashi braced himself. No way would Naruto be able to master an advanced kekkei genkai mid-battle. The others in the room had frozen, watching. The tomoes in Naruto's sharingan began to spin ominously.

"Sasuke.." Naruto reached behind him and grabbed the taller boy's forearm. His fingers wrapped around the chakra seals on the Uchiha's wrist.

"How about you," Naruto screwed his eyes shut in concentration. Red chakra encircled them and the seals on Sasuke's arms glowed white. "-show me yourself!"

The chakra seals shattered. Kakashi caught sight of Sasuke's smirk before being thrust backwards by the press of released energy coming from the center of the room.

Sasuke began to laugh. Kakashi felt his chest tighten at the sinister sound of it as his vision faded to black.

* * *

The air whipped past them. Naruto followed Sasuke as they flew over rooftop and road. His mind was whirring. It wouldn't be long before the whole village was after them, and he wasn't sure how he would talk his way out of this one.

Sasuke's path aimed toward the bordering forest. He had a good idea of where they were headed. Sure enough, the abandoned Uchiha compound came into view.

They landed lightly inside the front gate. Sasuke continued at a run towards a small shrine. They stopped before a tall wooden door.

"I need to show you something." He said. His voice sounded odd, as if he were suppressing some emotion. If it were grief or fear Naruto couldn't tell.

"You need to explain." He demanded as he followed him downstairs. "About Sakura."

The air was musty and rotted. He wondered if anyone had been here since the massacre.

At the bottom of the staircase stood a large stone tablet. The words on it seemed to dance in front of his eyes. The characters were familiar, but shifted in front of him.

"What is this?" He asked. Sasuke stood behind him quietly.

"An ancient tablet, only someone with the sharingan can decipher it."

Naruto squinted his blue eye shut, peering down at the tablet with his new sharingan. The characters stopped their swirling and settled into a decipherable form. It was a history of the clan.

"Why did you attack them?" Sasuke asked, walking up close behind him. "You can't become Hokage if you're locked up with me."

Naruto turned to face him. He tilted his head up to meet the dark gaze.

"I don't abandon my friends." He said, calling back on Kakashi's first lesson to them.

_Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum._

A smile flickered across the Uchiha's solemn features. He remembered the lesson.

"Kakashi is also your friend." He pointed out. Naruto looked away, guilt licked at his insides. They had left their former sensei slumped against the wall, knocked unconscious by the explosive energy released by the broken seal.

"You've betrayed your village." The taller boy continued, taking another step closer. "You attacked your Hokage."

He closed the distance between them and buried his long fingers in Naruto's ruffled hair, pulling his face closer. His touch sent him shivering.

"I'll destroy you." Sasuke whispered. He tugged Naruto's head back and softly pressed their lips together. His thumb traced lightly across Naruto's cheek. Every cell inside of him seemed to come to life at the touch. Heat flooded his body. He pressed back into the kiss before burying his face into the crook of Sasuke's neck.

"You're shaking." He whispered against the fair skin. Sasuke squeezed him closer. Naruto could feel his heart pounding. He pulled back to look into his face and found it blanked of emotion.

Naruto's vision blurred, his hands went numb.

"Sasuke.." He croaked out, before dropping to the floor. His legs were no longer responding.

His vision shifted in and out of darkness as the colors around him blurred. Hand signs flashed in the dark as Sasuke weaved chakra into a summoning jutsu.

"Saa-suu-" He croaked out. He couldn't feel his throat.

A masked figure appeared in the center of the room in a small cloud of smoke. The blood red clouds of the Akatsuki adorned his cloak. Distantly, as if through a tunnel, he heard Sasuke speaking.

"I've caught the nine tailed jinchuriki." Naruto opened his mouth in a silent scream, unable to make a sound. "Where are my brother's eyes?"

The masked figure in the room chuckled, bending down over Naruto's paralyzed form.

"To the point as always. Don't worry, I brought you your eyes. Though it seems you've already traded for a new one." He pulled at Naruto's frozen eyelid, inspecting the sharingan embedded within. Sasuke said nothing, not looking at Naruto's still form.

The masked man reached within his cloak, withdrawing a clear vial. Inside, Itachi's eyes floated in a gelatinous liquid grotesquely. Sasuke snatched it from his grasp, pocketing it.

"I will take the kyuubi back for extraction. What will you do now?" The masked figure asked as he kneeled beside Naruto. Sasuke smiled bitterly.

"Take my revenge."


	11. Name

Sakura rushed into the Hokage's office, finding Kakashi on the floor. Yamato followed on her heels.

"Kakashi sensei!" She cried out and dropped to her knees, her hands glowed as she weaved a healing ninjutsu.

"Where is Naruto?" Yamato asked the room, his eyes were wide. Danzo coughed from the floor. Blood spurted from his mouth.

"The kyuubi left with the Uchiha traitor." He growled out.

Sakura felt fear twist at her insides. Was she going to lose all three of them?

Kakashi was not responding. She placed a healing hand against his forehead and his eyes flickered open.

"Wha.." Kakashi muttered, still clouded and confused. He looked around the destroyed office. Yamato kneeled next to them. Distantly, she heard more shinobi flood into the room, their voices loud and alarmed.

"What happened?" Yamato asked. Kakashi shook his head.

"Naruto broke the seal on Sasuke." He looked around the destroyed office. "They're gone, aren't they?"

Yamato nodded grimly.

Sakura stood suddenly. Images rushed to fill her. An awareness of time that had been missing for weeks resettled itself into her.

"Oh.." She gasped. Her lost memories flooded her mind. Kakashi reached out to steady her. "Oh no..."

"What is it?" The jounin leaned forward in concern.

"He..." She stood, staring through the shattered window and out towards the Uchiha compound.

"I know where they are."

* * *

They landed heavily in the grass in front of the abandoned compound. Shinobi gathered behind them. Kakashi led the group toward a dilapidated shrine.

"Sasuke!" He called. "Come out, I know you're there."

It was silent for a moment, then the shrine burst into black flames. Sakura leapt back. The heat hit her face in a wave. A cloaked figure leapt from the burning remains.

Sasuke was clad in the distinctive Akatsuki robes. His eyes no longer two toned, but patterned in the distinctive red of the magekyou sharingan. Sakura heard Kakashi curse. Her heart swelled with fear. Images of the last attack flooded her mind. The village leveled. The dead piling around her in heaps.

"Where is Danzo?" The last Uchiha called out, his voice boomed across the stunned crowd. A panicked ringing filled her ears. Where was Naruto?

Sasuke's gaze fell on her. She nodded almost imperceptibly, locking eyes.

"I am here.." The interim Hokage walked forward to the front of the crowd. If he had seen her small acknowledgment she couldn't say, for as soon as Danzo entered the pitch Sasuke's face twisted into a ugly rage. She was forgotten entirely.

"Kakashi sensei," She whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "We need to go, we were too late. Naruto needs us."

Yamato turned, having heard their quiet exchange. His eyes widened.

"We're under attack." He hissed. "You can't leave now."

"If they get the kyuubi from Naruto, it won't just be Konoha that's destroyed." Kakashi said gravely.

Yamato turned to watch Danzo square off opposite the Uchiha, before nodding his affirmative.

"Follow me." She whispered.

The trio took off, heading for the trees unnoticed. Sakura detected a presence behind them. Sai landed beside her.

"Are you going after Naruto?" He asked, guessing their intent. She nodded gravely.

"I know where he is."

"Let's fly." Sai said, and pulled out a pen. He crafted a giant raven, large enough for the four of them.

They took to the air.

* * *

Naruto couldn't move. Couldn't feel himself breathing. Shadow pressed against his eyes. Distantly he heard the walls above him dripping. He was inside a cave. Out of the corner of his vision he could make out a giant statue. It's bound hands stretched out in front of it in a suppliant manner.

"This is the Gedo statue." The masked Akatsuki member's voice was lit with gaiety. "This is where we'll remove the kyuubi inside of you."

He struggled to move. Nothing responded to him. Even the kyuubi's voice was silent within him.

"That will kill you of course, but you can trust me when I tell you it's all for a higher purpose." The masked man brushed Naruto's bangs back from his forehead almost tenderly.

"Why don't we begin."

* * *

The air smelled like ash. Fire had spread from the small shrine to the remainder of the Uchiha complex. Sasuke stood before it like a specter from hell. The flames cast his shadow across the horrified villagers. Shinobi were scrambling around him, shouting orders over the roar of the flames and the battle before them. Danzo locked in combat with the Uchiha heir. His attacks bounced harmlessly off of the impenetrable purple guardian that Sasuke summoned around him. Susanoo.

Shikamaru caught sight of his friends, their wide eyed faces streaked with ash. He rushed to them.

"Shikamaru!" Chouji shouted his relief upon seeing them.

He looked through each face, searching.

"Where is Naruto? Has anyone seen him since this started?" He raised his voice over the shouting around them.

Each shook their head, eyes darting back to the battle before them.

"Say him name!" Sasuke roared over the crowd. Danzo was on his knees now. The Hokage cap had slid off of his head.

"Say it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Danzo shrieked. The Susanoo loomed before him. He was snatched into the air above the crowd by the monstrous being. Attacks bounced off harmlessly as shinobi attempted to help him.

"LIAR." Sasuke squeezed the man. The blood vessels in his eyes burst at the pressure. Danzo screamed. Ino dropped to her knees beside him, tears welling in her eyes.

"He's going to kill the Hokage…"

Shikamaru looked around desperately. All of the village forces here and they were helpless. How was this possible? How could one person stand against an entire shinobi village?

The susanoo's death grip tightened. The sick sound of popping bones echoed across the crowd. An eerie silence had fallen, broken only by the crackling of black flames. All eyes were on the pair.

"Say his name." Sasuke repeated, no longer shouting. "Or I will break you bone by bone."

"Uchiha…" Danzo gasped out. Blood spattered onto his lips with the word.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke smiled. A wicked, malformed grin that did not meet his eyes. The ground rumbled beneath them. The air crackled with energy as an enormous barrier emerged from the circular walls surrounding the village and encompassed them, sealing them all inside.

Screams arose across the night air. The Hokage's plight forgotten as shinobi ran to the gates, only to be pushed back upon touching the blue barrier.

"Say it louder." Sasuke said, a perverse giddiness filling his tone.

"UCHIHA" Danzo shouted, desperate. "ITACHI"

A wet crunch filled the air as Sasuke closed Susanoo's hand on Danzo's form. Muscle and bone pulverized beneath the pressure.

Shikamaru closed his eyes. The iron smell of blood hit his nose, overpowering the smoke.

* * *

It was not long before Sakura was signaling a descent. They had left the land of fire, and by Kakashi's estimation were somewhere in the northern area of the Land of Rivers.

"There." She pointed downward. Night was quickly falling, and she could faintly make out a red archway set against the stone river bank in the dark.

They landed on the water and stepped toward the wooden arch. It was pushed into a large boulder.

"Looks like the destroyed entrance to a shrine." Sai noted.

Sakura frowned at it, she placed her hand against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Naruto is in here somewhere." She said with certainty.

"How do you know?" Yamato asked.

"I have my memories back." She turned to meet Kakashi's eyes. "And more, Sasuke implanted images of this place."

"Then this could be a trap!" Sai said with alarm, dropping into a defensive stance as he examined the area around them.

Sakura shook her head, brow furrowed.

"I don't think so."

"Sakura, try to punch through it." Kakashi said, gesturing at the stone wall between the archway. She reached back, summoning her strength, and let loose a mighty blow against the stone barrier.

She flew backwards and Kakashi caught her heavily. The stone was completely unharmed.

"Now what?" Asked Yamato quietly. The four stood in silence as the night gathered around them.

Distantly, they heard a rumble.

Deep inside the cave, Naruto's eyes flickered open.

The masked man's back was turned away from him, his focus on the great looming statue. Naruto felt strength return to his limbs.

_Sasuke._

Quietly, he sat up. He gritted his teeth against the pounding in his head. The splitting ache in his chest.

_Sasuke sold me._

Anger flooded him. He felt it spread to his shaking fingertips. White hot rage emanating from his core.

_You should have known he never cared about you._ The Kyuubi's guttural voice rang across his consciousness.

Red chakra was creeping its way down his body, engulfing him. Searing the skin away.

_No one cares about you. Just what you can do for them. What_ we _can do for them._

The masked man turned at last.

"You're awake?" He said in apparent surprise. He stepped backward, raising his arm as a shield from the heat blasting off the boy in waves.

Naruto dropped to his knees, feeling the flesh peel from his face and mix with the red hot chakra around him.

_You will never reach Sasuke. You will never be Hokage. I will give you a new purpose._

He screamed. His skin was no longer his own. His thoughts were no longer his own. Locked in the corner of his mind, Naruto wept.


	12. Trust

Sasuke stood above Danzo's decimated form. The Hokage lay dead at his feet. Before him the war torn villagers cowered.

"Bring me the council elders!" He called out.

The susanoo cloaked him, shielding him from anyone who would dare stand in his way.

"Bring them to me, or I will slaughter every last one of you." He bellowed. "I have killed your Hokage. I have taken your jinchuuriki. Bring them to me now!"

It was silent aside from the low hum of chakra around his susanoo. They were not complying. He strode forward. The crowd of shinobi parted to let him through. The rookie 9 were gathered near him now. Fear shone in their eyes. He flashed toward them.

Hinata screamed. He had her by her arms. She dropped to her knees as he twisted them around behind her. There was shouting in the crowd now. Attacks bounced harmlessly off the susanoos defensive wall.

"I will start with the heir to the Hyuuga clan." He shouted. The kunai felt cold in his hand as he pressed it against her pale throat. He heard Kurenai's screams above the crowd's roar. Kiba was slamming his fists against the barrier.

Hiashi Hyuuga stood before him now.

"Release my daughter." The man was tall. His long dark hair framed his shoulders. Just as stoic a figure as Sasuke remembered him from the long ago chunin exams. He sneered at him. The Hyuuga had risen to power only in the absence of the Uchiha. They had benefited from his clan's annihilation more than any other family in the village.

"Bring me the council members." He said. The kunai dug into Hinata's delicate neck. A trickle of blood dripped down the blade. He could feel the girl trembling. She made no move to call out to her father.

He heard muffled shouting from across the crowd. There was a scuffle ahead. He walked forward, dragging Hinata along with him.

A smaller Hyuuga girl was being held down by several ANBU. She writhed in their grasp. He felt Hinata respond in his grip.

"Hanabi!" She shouted. Sasuke raised his arm. A streak of lightning lanced out and struck the ANBU holding the girl against the dirt. She pried herself away.

"I can see them!" The girl rose from the ground. The byakugan was prominent in her eyes. "I can see where the elders are. I'll show you. Just let my sister go!"

Sasuke smiled bitterly. He'd chosen well.

"Come with me." He said. The susanoo parted to allow her to walk toward him. He loosened his grip on Hinata and her sister reached for her.

"You cannot leave this barrier." He said as the sisters embraced. "Show me where they are and I will let you both go."

* * *

Rocky shrapnel sprayed around them as the boulder in the arch exploded. Kakashi ducked, pulling Sakura down along with him. The kyuubi's presence pressed against all of them now, encasing them in heat.

"We can get inside now!" Tenzou shouted over the crackling sound of heated chakra.

Sure enough, the doorway to the shrine was blasted open. Inside they could see the red glow of the kyuubi. Naruto was there, no doubt battling the Akatsuki.

"We have to go in." Sakura stood beside him. He could feel her trembling. "We have to help him."

Kakashi stood, leading the way to the blown out entrance. It was even hotter inside. The cave walls pressed around him. In the center of the cavern loomed an enormous statue. It's long fingers cast ten foot shadows against the ground. Naruto was crouched before it. Four tails whipped through the air around him.

"Careful." Sakura whispered. "He will not recognize us."

Naruto shot forward suddenly towards the ceiling. A masked man wrapped in the Akatsuki's signature cloak dropped to the floor. He slid through Naruto's chakra enhanced grasp as if he'd become a ghost.

"Watch that move he just used." Kakashi warned. The two were at it again. Naruto lunged and once again the masked man slid through his fingers unharmed.

"Kakashi!" The masked man said from the center of the room. He turned his head to observe them. Kakashi started at his name.

"Good of you to make an appearance." The man said.

A fifth tail was forming. Naruto was unrecognizable, completely shrouded in the bloody mist around him.

"I don't know you." Kakashi said. "How do you know me?"

The masked man laughed. He scratched his dark hair with one hand, shrugged with the other.

"I've known you for a very long time."

* * *

The elders were lined in a row before him. They faced their people. All of Konoha was gathered out before them now, encased by the shrinking blue barrier which corralled them together. The Hyuuga sisters were back among the crowd, standing behind their father.

"Tell them!" Sasuke thundered. "What you did to the Uchiha. What you ordered Uchiha Itachi to do."

The old woman was crying. Her shoulders shook up and down. He stood directly behind her now.

"Tell them or I will kill you slowly." He said, unmoved by her fear. Her sobbing increased.

"Enough!" The oldest among them spoke. "We protected the village. The Uchiha were insane. They were dangerous. They were planning a coup, and they might have been successful."

A murmur began in the crowd before them. Sasuke relished their shocked faces. The clever ones had already begun to piece it together.

"We ordered Uchiha Itachi to exterminate them, before they destroyed everything we had built." The elder continued.

Sasuke looked out at the expanse as gasps sounded in the crowd. For a moment he caught Shikamaru's eyes. Saw them wide with horror.

"This is the lie your peace is built on." He said aloud. "Each of you is riding on Itachi's sacrifice. All of you owe a debt in blood."

The barrier cast an eerie blue glow over the crowd. It had shrunken to the size of a few blocks now. All of Konoha was jammed in together, witness to his justice.

"I will kill you." Sasuke said softly to the captives before him. His blood was pounding in his veins. "Just like you killed my family."

He felt a force pull at his navel. His feet lifted before him as he fell backwards into a void. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Tobi was summoning him. He landed hard in the dirt and was immediately greeted with the hot wave of chakra around them. The red glow from the kyuubi lit the cavern. He pushed himself to his feet.

"Do you have any idea what you just interrupted!" He directed it to the Akatsuki leader beside him.

"Sorry Sasuke." The masked man said. "I've run into a bit of trouble." He gestured out at the room. Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, and the wood user were gathered near the back of the cave. Their faces pinched in anger and fear. Naruto was crouched near the center of the cave. Five tails whipped around him.

"I thought you had knocked him out completely, he woke nearly as soon as we had arrived." The masked man said, and Sasuke caught the suspicion in the tone.

Naruto swivelled to face him now. The Kyuubi's red eyes bored into him. He tensed, preparing himself for an attack.

It never came.

The giant statue activated behind them. Blue light filled the room, shooting down to capture Naruto's glowing form. He was lifted into the air by his naval. The red chakra dissipated around him as it was absorbed into the Gedo statue. His eyes rolled white to the back of his head.

"Now!" He heard Kakashi shout from across the room. The four were dashing forward.

"You handle them!" Obito spat at him, focused on the statue. Sasuke turned to face his former team. Sakura pulled Naruto to her and pumped healing chakra into him even as the statue ripped the kyuubi from him. He caught the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her healing energy was being absorbed along with the fox. Naruto's head was tilted back, his mouth hung open as his soul was ripped out. Lightening formed around his hand and Kakashi caught his eye from across the room. Sasuke could see the panic in his former sensei's face.

"You put your trust in the wrong person, Tobi." Sasuke said as the chidori crackled to life in his palm. He slammed the ball of lightning through the man and into the statue, shattering the base of it.

Tobi cursed and formed a reverse summoning jutsu. The blue light faded as the statue was spirited away. Naruto dropped to the ground in a limp heap.

Sasuke prepared to face off against the cloaked Akatsuki figure. Sakura's panicked cries rang out distantly behind him. He could feel Naruto's presence. Could sense his life.

Tobi glared at him through the spiral mask. He caught the red glint of the Sharingan through the eye hole.

"We made a deal, Sasuke."

"You think I care?"

"You have the village with him out of the way. Yours for the taking. I will send you back, you can finish what you started."

"No."

The masked man widened his stance. The air around Sasuke began to distort and he leapt away. Narrowly avoiding being sucked in to Tobi's internal dimension.

Kakashi, Sai, and the wood user landed on either side of him.

"Allies, for the time?" Kakashi asked under his breath, not taking his eyes off of Tobi.

"Yes."

"Sakura, get Naruto out of here." He yelled. The pink haired girl was knelt over Naruto's immobile form behind them.

"Y-yes sensei." She slung Naruto's arm over her shoulder, his feet dragged along the stone floor as she fled towards the cave entrance.

Tobi moved across the room, fast but not faster than his sharingan could follow.

Sakura shrieked as the masked man appeared before her. Then Sasuke was there, feet planted between his former teammates and the Akatsuki leader. The susanoo bloomed around them.

"Ahhh Sasuke, you really are a marvel." Tobi muttered. He paced before the purple shield. Behind him, Kakashi crouched at the ready.

"You can't have Naruto."

"I hadn't realized you still carried such affection for your former comrades." Tobi said. "Despite everything their village has done to you."

He leaned forward.

"To our people."

"Who are you, exactly." Kakashi asked. He was directly behind the Uchiha now.

Tobi turned, observing the jounin.

"I will retreat, for now." He gave a slight, sarcastic bow. "My fellow traiter, my old friend. Till the next time."

The air rippled and he vanished into the vortex. Sasuke dropped the susanoo's protective shield and Kakashi rushed forward to Naruto's side. Sakura had resumed pumping her healing chakra into the immobile boy.

He backed away from the three.

"Sasuke." Sai said. He approached him cautiously. "What was that about?"

He didn't answer, eyes fixed on the unconscious blonde.

"Tell him." The words dug at his throat, hoarse. "When he wakes up, that I am a part of Akatsuki. That I betrayed him."

He turned away toward the cave entrance.

"Sasuke wait!" Sakura called after him.

He turned.

"What are you saying?" Tears were gathering in her eyes. "You want us to lie to him?"

Once more his eyes fell to Naruto's lax face. Peaceful in sleep.

"It is not a lie. I have always been his enemy."

* * *

Sunlight streamed in through the windows above him. Naruto could see it through his eyelids. The light turned them red. It warmed his face. He became aware of the noise around him.

"I think he might be waking up." Sai's voice.

"Someone get Sakura!" Unfamiliar. A nurse maybe. Naruto squinted against the light and the noise, wishing they would let him return to sleep.

"Naruto!" He heard Sakura shout, felt her grab his hand.

He was aware of his breathing. Aware of the pain. Pain in his skin, in his head. In his chest.

"What happened?" He croaked out. There were many people in the room now. Kakashi sensei, Yamato taichou, Iruka sensei. He searched for a face without fully knowing who he looked for.

"You were captured by the Akatsuki. They attacked the village again. We were able to get you home just in time." Sakura said. "They nearly got the kyuubi."

He remembered that now. Remembered the dark cavern, the heat as the kyuubi enveloped him.

He sat bolt right up, his hand slipped from Sakura's to grab the bed sheets before him.

"Where's Sasuke?" He asked. That's who was missing. That was the face he didn't see.

He watched as Sakura's face crumpled in pain.

"What happened? Where is he?"

Anxiety was coursing through him. Half remembered images flicked across his mind.

_He betrayed you._ The kyuubi's whisper flitted across his mind.

"Sasuke was helping the Akatsuki." Yamato said flatly. His eyes were hard. "He's the one who handed you over to them."

"No way.." He said. He bowed his head, trying to remember. A dark room. The kyuubi's chakra burning into him. A masked man. He felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"He wouldn't do that." He said numbly. People were exiting the room now. Shooed away by his nurse. He felt Sakura wrap an arm around his shoulders.

_I'll destroy you, Naruto._

The tears slipped over his lids and he buried his face in the sheets as sobs began the rack through him.

The room was still filled with sunlight, but only Sakura remained to witness his grief now.


	13. Death

Sasuke listened now. Whispers of the truth behind the Uchiha's fate had spread across the land with haste. The village had been attacked again. The truth about the Uchiha massacre was revealed. The Hokage was dead. He found himself satiated by the gossip. Felt the satisfaction of his dead clan. Their story was finally being told, Itachi's suffering would not disappear from history as though it had never happened. He would not die a villain.

"Any word of the jinchuuriki?" He asked. Naruto's condition was kept quiet by the village. He remained their most valuable weapon.

"Not much." The small man said, averting his eyes. The two were seated over a steaming cup of green tea. Sasuke had helped the man on the road. Accompanied him back to his hovel of a town.

"Nothing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, my sister works in the village. I'm probably not supposed to repeat this, her daughter is a nurse in the ward where the jinchuuriki is staying." Sasuke was still, listening intently. He gestured for the man to continue.

"She says that he's awake and recovered, but he's despondent. Still in shock from the attack. He just stares at the wall all day." Sasuke kept his gaze trained at the swirling tea before him. Little clouds of steam rose in front of him.

"Not good for Konoha, or the rest of us, with the jinchuuriki acting like that." The man laughed nervously. Sasuke nodded mutely.

"No. The village relies on the jinchuuriki's strength." He replied blandly.

The man seemed satisfied by this answer, leaving him to his thoughts. Naruto would recover, he did not doubt that. When he did he would come after him as an enemy and a member of the Akatsuki. He would be prepared to meet him then, as Itachi had met him.

* * *

"You're sure it was him?"

"Yes, Akamaru knows his scent. Especially since he was here so recently."

"It could be a trap."

"It's Sasuke we're dealing with, it's almost certainly a trap."

"Shhh. Shh."

The rookie 9 were congregated near Chouji's house. Gathered outside in the open. Ino shushed them now, looking around with concern.

"It's okay, Naruto kun is still in the hospital." Hinata said, her brows creased with concern. "Sakura chan is with him."

The others let out a visible sigh of relief.

"After everything he's done, you don't think Naruto would still defend him?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru shrugged.

"No one really understands what was going on between them." He averted his eyes. "And he's never been predictable. Who knows how he would react."

The group was silent. Unsaid speculation hung in the air between them.

"After what happened to Itachi, Sasuke's anger towards the village isn't hard to understand." Ino pointed out.

"But his actions are unjustifiable." Shikamaru said coldly.

Hinata's hand rose to touch her throat where he'd held a kunai against her.

"He betrayed Naruto kun." She said softly. "After everything.."

"Naruto would have died if we had not found him in time." Sai said. Shikamaru nodded.

"It is unforgivable." He repeated.

"So now we kill him ourselves? We're no match. He killed the Hokage." Ino pointed out.

"What do you think will happen when Naruto catches wind of his location?" Shikamaru asked. "He'll go after him again. What if he can't bring himself to kill him?"

Hinata nodded at his words, her eyes dropped to the ground.

"Then we make sure Naruto never hears of him!"

"How long would that last? He's recovering now, but give it a week and he'll be up trying to find him again. We need to put an end to this. For Naruto's sake."

* * *

Kakashi found himself at the blown out Uchiha shrine. A cracked tablet held the secrets of the dead clan. The text it was written in was strange. Impossible to decipher with his natural eye. Only with Obito's sharingan was he able to read a portion of it. The remaining sentences remained illegible.

The genjutsu Sasuke had placed on Sakura had not explained the meaning behind this place. He had only shown her pieces of his plan. The shrine, the secret Akatsuki base hidden behind the boulder. He had explained that Naruto would be taken there. Kakashi could only guess at his reasoning for sharing this with his former teammate. Whether or not it was purely an attempt to sabotage the Akatsuki Kakashi did not know. But without a doubt, Sasuke had saved Naruto's life when he attacked the gedo statue.

He left the shrine, passing the bloody mark where Danzo was murdered. The revelation of the Uchiha genocide had come as a shock to him. He wondered, had Obito lived to adulthood, would he have been one of those slain for the sake of the village? Sasuke's anger had never seemed more relatable. He found it difficult to blame his former pupil, even now.

As they had stood in the Akatsuki's cavernous base, after the masked man had fled, Sasuke had made no move to attack them. If his purpose was to thwart the Akatsuki from gathering all tailed beasts he would have killed Naruto then. Instead he had left, with a last glance at Naruto's still form that could only be interpreted as longing. Kakashi shook his head, bewildered by it all. For the time being, it was safer that Naruto see him as his enemy.

* * *

"Do you remember the last time we sat like this?"

Sakura smiled at him softly.

"With you all bandaged up like that, like a mummy."

Naruto did not raise his eyes to meet hers. Did not make any sign to acknowledge her at all.

"I promised you that next time we would save him together." Her voice caught on word promise. "You remember that right?"

An analog clock ticked loudly above the door, breaking the silence in steady increments. He shifted in the bedsheets almost imperceptibly. The hospital gown hung limp on his form, his figure shrunken with pain.

"So you promised me that you would bring him home. And I promised you that we would do it together. So…so we both broke our promises." She smiled, a pained look.

A nurse pushed the door open with her foot, pulling a cart behind her. She loaded the discarded towels and hospital gowns strewn around the floor.

Naruto was staring at the metal cart. His reflection clear in the polished surface. He raised his hand to the red sharingan eye, touching the skin beneath it.

Sakura stood suddenly, pushing the cart out of the room to the nurse's dismay. She returned to the bed, sitting on the edge of it.

He looked at her fully now.

"This is why you wince when you see me now." He said. He pointed at the red eye. "The sharingan."

She looked away.

"You're keeping something from me." He said. Her skin felt cold.

"Tell me." He demanded, and she crumbled beneath the words. How could she deny him anything now, even if it was for his sake? To spare him more pain.

"While you were gone, on your mission with Kakashi.." She hesitated. He was watching her intently. The tomoe's in the sharingan seemed to sharpen with his focus. Nausea crept into the pit of her stomach.

"Sasuke put me under a genjutsu." Naruto clutched at her forearm.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded, but she saw in his eyes that he already knew the answer. His devotion to Sasuke had left him blind. He'd chosen the Uchiha over her without ever realizing a choice had been made.

"We didn't know why he did it. He lifted it when you came back...and" She hesitated. If she told him the full story he would leave again. He would chase Sasuke to the ends of the earth to get the truth out of him. She leaned forward to hug him. "I'm so sorry Naruto. We suspected he might be up to something, but I never….I never thought it would turn out like this."

He didn't hug her back, neither did he pull away. Sakura grabbed his shoulders, looking up into his face.

"From now on we move forward. Both of us." And she could see the denial. The heartache.

"I will make everything right again." She whispered another promise, and prayed that this one she would be able to keep.

The door slammed open and a young girl burst into the room. Her dark hair fanned out behind her.

"Hanabi?" Naruto said, distantly recognizing the younger girl as Hinata's relation.

She looked up at them with wide white eyes, panting.

"You have to stop them."

* * *

Sasuke found them tedious. A row of infuriated eyes. He counted 10 hostile faces. Shikamaru at the forefront, their designated leader. He wondered if this attempt at a battle was his idea.

They couldn't have known what level of prowess he'd achieved in the years since leaving Konoha. They'd barely known him as genin. Now the years stretched between them as an impossible distance. Either way, this worked out in his favor.

"We're not here to bring you back this time, Sasuke kun." Sai spoke. His stance was wide, as if he expected a physical retaliation to his words. He was afraid of him.

Ino and Chouji flanked Shikamaru on either side. He remembered this combination. Chouji would attack while Shikamaru bound him with his shadow based jutsu. Ino would follow up with her mind control technique. It was a strong combination, possibly lethal against a weaker opponent. Against the sharingan, it was little more than a distraction.

"I wouldn't expect you to." He responded. He had never expected anyone to try and bring him back. Had never asked to be offered a second chance in the village.

Naruto had offered it anyway. Stubbornly loyal to the end.

The attack came swiftly. It was well coordinated. Chouji came in from one side, Lee the other, Kiba from the front, Sai from above. The susanoo rose to engulf him as their blows rained down. He'd have to keep an eye on Lee, by far the fastest of the group.

"What game were you playing with Naruto and Sakura?!" Kiba bellowed at him. He ducked away, moving the susanoo with him. The Inuzuka was red faced and furious, leaving himself wide open to retaliation.

"You hurt our friends." He heard Lee's voice behind him. A lightening fast kick slammed into his left side. The susanoo rose to protect him too late. He shoulder bit into the dirt. A flash a green appeared beside him, but the susanoo was around him this time and he turned to meet him.

"Don't look into his eyes!" He heard Shikamaru cry out.

He weaved the signs for the kirin. This was was a jutsu they had never seen before.

He raised his hand into the air, summoning a storm from the otherwise cloudless sky. Bolts of lightning rained down with precision at his targets. He modified the strength of the electric current to a non lethal dosage as it came down around him. In the pandemonium he leapt from rookie to rookie, locking eyes as they desperately attempted to flee his sky splitting attack. One by one they fell under his genjutsu.

The sky cleared and he found himself surrounded by a circle of still forms. Their clothes smoked from the electric surge.

He knelt beside them, checking each pulse for life.

Rays of sunlight caught his face as the storm broke entirely. In the distance he felt a familiar signature approach. Two. Naruto's distinctive aura was laced with hints of the kyuubi's presence. Beside him was Sakura's relatively weak glow. They were arriving sooner than he had expected. The rookies' attempt on his life must have stirred Naruto from his prolonged bedrest.

"Sasuke!"

He could see him through the trees now. They were in a wooded clearing, not far from the valley of the end. He considered leading him there, for old times sake. Their final stage.

Naruto had foregone his signature orange jacket in favor of a plain hospital issued t-shirt. It made him seem smaller somehow. His two toned eyes stood in sharp relief against his thin face. The expression in them was one Sasuke had never seen directed at himself before. Pure hatred. With some satisfaction he acknowledged that he'd finally found a way to make Naruto give up on him. He'd finally betrayed him in a way that was unforgivable even for the most forgiving of them all.

"What have you done?" Naruto spat the words at him, eyes darting between each of their fallen friends.

"They will die here." Sasuke said. He watched the fear flit across his face with some satisfaction. Naruto would recover from this. This nightmare would end for him today.

Sakura rushed to the nearest rookie.

"She's alive!" She said, her voice shook with relief as she hovered over Ino's body. She looked around her. "They're all still alive Naruto!"

Sasuke dashed forward, using the distraction to his advantage. Naruto parried at the last moment, thrown backward by the blow. He retaliated with a strike of his own. His movements were more precise guided by the sharingan. Sasuke found it unnerving to look into his own eye. The curse of the Uchiha. Had he doomed Naruto to suffering by giving him this power? It seemed that any who acquired the Sharingan walked a path drenched in blood.

"Was anything you ever did real?" Naruto ground out as they faced off. "Did I ever know you?"

Sasuke felt Itachi's presence guiding him. Again he marveled at the strength it must have taken for his brother to carry on with his lie.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said as he dodged another of Naruto's strikes.

"Liar!" He cried back. His voice cracked.

Sasuke parried another desperately thrown blow. Naruto still allowed his emotions to upset his battle sense. That much had not changed over the years.

"Look at me." He said, slowing to a halt. The blonde froze, averting his eyes from Sasuke's red gaze. "I've been using you for as long as I've known you." He watched Naruto's face crumple at his words and ignored the pain in his own chest. "I made you my friend so I could attain the mangekyou sharingan. I lost to you so I could infiltrate the village. I made you trust me so I could trade you for my brother's eyes. You fell for all of it." In his peripheral vision he could see Sakura's frozen stare. Her mouth was opened in horror.

"I must really be stupid." Naruto said. Tears were streaming down his face now. Sasuke closed his eyes, ignoring the danger in front of him. This was almost over. They were almost free. He heard Naruto's approach. Felt the press of his chakra as he appeared before him.

The blow came to his left cheek, shattering the small capsule he'd held secret in his mouth. He felt teeth loosen in the gum at impact. He collapsed to the ground. Already his vision was fading. The pill he'd had Sakura create for him was lethal. Potent as the pink little flower it was derived from. Naruto was kneeling over him. His tears were falling onto his face now. He could feel them as they slid down his cheeks. Salty as they dripped into his open mouth. He focused on the blue iris above him. This was the last thing he wanted to see before he died. That infinite shade. He felt blood bubbling to his lips as the poison spread through his system. His last words would be his final lie.

Sasuke smiled.

* * *

As Kakashi ran through the underbrush he recalled another day. Three years ago he had run past these same trees, his heart filled with the same fear it was now. He had failed to stop history from repeating itself.

Pakkun raced along at his side, guiding him by scent as he had before.

"They are not in the valley this time." He said.

Kakashi nodded. He could only hope that this time he would not arrive too late. He propelled himself off a branch, landing lightly in a green meadow. The earth was scorched. The brightly colored clothes of Naruto's class stood out from the grass. Their limp forms decorated the earth. At the center of the destruction was Naruto, cradling a lifeless body to him.

"No.." He said. He ran then, as fast as he could. Too slow. He was too slow again.

Naruto's head was bent down, his forehead pressed against the Uchiha's. He was rocking the two of them back and forth gently.

"Sakura.." He said wildly, turning to the pink haired girl. Her eyes were wide, staring at the scene before her with her mouth agape.

"Sakura what are you doing? Heal him!" He said. He knelt down beside Naruto.

"Let me see." He said gently, trying to pry to the limp boy from Naruto's grasping embrace. The blonde did not budge.

Sakura stood, wandering over to them as if lost.

"He told me-" She said. Her eyes were welling with tears, the shock giving way to her emotions at last. "He told me not to heal him." She whispered. Kakashi cursed.

Chakra was gathering around Naruto's form. The red chakra of the fox. The boy was still rocking Sasuke's body, his eyes screwed shut in pain.

"Naruto.." Kakashi said. He rose to back away. The kyuubi's chakra was dense to the point of visibility now. Red streams flashed around them.

Sakura reached for Kakashi. He grabbed her, pulling her behind him. The air was charged with heat.

"Naruto!" He called out, desperate this time. The boy could not hear him. Lost in his grief. The fox's chakra encircled the two of them completely. Kakashi could not make out what happened in the center.

"Oh God.." Sakura said suddenly. Kakashi turned to her.

"Look at the chakra. It's funneling into them." She shielded her eyes from the red glare.

The chakra was swirling around the two like a hurricane. It did seem to be channeled at them, or rather at Sasuke's form. Kakashi dragged Sakura back a few steps. The grass caught fire around them.

"You think I'd-" Naruto's voice was gravelly, imbued with the fox's influence. "Let you go this easily!" He shouted from the vortex. The winds ripped at Kakashi, he dropped to his knees to grab the earth. Somewhere ahead, in the eye of the storm, Naruto drew a seal in blood.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, I know I've enjoyed reading your reactions and predictions throughout. It's been quite the ride :) For those following the anime, the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke is also airing this Thursday. A happy coincidence to end this story just as Shippuden comes to an end.
> 
> Since Clarity is almost finished, I've started writing a new Sasuke/Naruto fanfiction called Mirror's End. This story will also diverge from canon, but at a much earlier point. Chapter 1 is up now if you want to check it out!
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/8134298


	14. Clarity

It was dark. Sasuke couldn't hear, see, or feel anything except an awareness of the void. Distantly, he felt Naruto's presence. He opened his mouth to call out to him but no words came. The darkness was shifting, giving way to another form. Slowly a room emerged around him. He was standing in ankle deep water. Before him rose a giant cage, it's steel bars as thick around as his forearm.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said. His voice reverberated around the wet dungeon

Sasuke did not turn to acknowledge him. He stared at the cage with increasing horror. Within it the kyuubi glared back at him, red eyes reflecting in the dim light.

"What have you done?" He asked.

Naruto walked around in front of him, stepping close so their noses almost touched.

"Tell me everything."

He closed his eyes, blocking him out. His heart was beating in his chest. Alive.

"You should have let me go." He replied. And he meant more than just now. He meant the valley of the end. He meant the years of pursuit that had followed. Naruto should have let him go a long time ago.

"You wanted me to kill you." Naruto said. Sasuke could feel his breath on his face. "Why?"

He didn't respond. Whatever the jinchuuriki had done to pull him here, he hadn't expected it. Should have predicted that Naruto would find a way to thwart him even beyond death. The fox glared at him from inside the enormous cage. If he turned and ran behind those bars now, maybe the kyuubi would finish the job for him.

"I know why you killed Danzo, and why you tried to kill the elders. I know about Itachi." Naruto looked away, his brow furrowed. "And I don't blame you for it, for wanting your revenge."

He was so close. He wanted to reach out and touch him.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth? Why did you...give me to the Akatsuki?" He continued. Sasuke could feel him trying to piece it all together. To understand.

"Just let me go." The words came out before he could stop them.

"No. Not until you explain." Naruto reached out to grab shirt collar, pulling him close so he couldn't avoid his gaze. "Tell me everything."

He could smell him. Even though they weren't really there. Even though this was all an illusion, a final conversation between specters, he could still smell him.

"How could you join the Akatsuki? They're trying to kill me."

"I didn't."

"Sakura said-"

"I put Sakura under a genjutsu while you were gone on your mission." He opened his eyes, holding Naruto's gaze. The hurt and betrayal in those depths was clear to see.

"I had her set up a barrier around the village, gather ingredients for a sedative...and other things. When I-" He nodded towards Naruto's lips, eyes dropping to them. The blond blushed, red color spreading across both cheeks, visible even in the dim light. "I poisoned you with it. The effects were not set to last more than a few minutes. By the time Tobi had you back you were already waking up, and Sakura was on the way with help. Guided by coordinates I'd implanted in her."

"Then why did you let me think you betrayed me." The blond moved closer still, tugging on the collar of his shirt. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt!"

"After killing Danzo, and clearing Itachi's name." He moved his hand up to cover Naruto's clenched fists. "My next goal...was to make you the Hokage."

"What-!"

"Let me finish."

Naruto's mismatched eyes were darting between his. Trying to glean the honesty, desperately wanting to find truth.

"I became the leaf's greatest villain, and you will return its greatest hero. After you kill me." He reached up to brush a stray strand of blonde off of his whiskered cheek. Naruto brushed his hand away furiously, pushing him away.

"So you want to die just for that! I don't need your help to become Hokage. How could you be so _stupid._ "

"This is the way it should end."

"Bullshit. You're just afraid."

The anger didn't fully mask the pain this was causing him. The way his voice cracked near the end. Sasuke held his gaze, waiting for him to calm.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Yes you are. You're afraid of me." He was back in his face now, pushing him until he hit the wall of the enclosure. "You're afraid of living now that you don't have an easy path laid out in front of you. You think I'm going to die on you like everyone else you cared about, or betray you. That I'll leave you alone again."

"You don't understand what you're talking about."

"Like hell." He slammed his fist into the stone. "I understand everything about you. I always have. That's why-"

Sasuke dropped his head to Naruto's shoulder, drawing him close into a tight embrace. The heat of him warmed him to the core.

"Your place is in the village, not chasing after me."

"Screw the village!" Naruto shouted. He pulled away. Tears began to drip down his face into the water pooled around their feet. "You want me to become Hokage on a set of lies. You haven't avenged the Uchiha, all that you've done is taken on Itachi's pain for yourself. You cleared his name only to destroy your own." His voice echoed around the chamber.

"My name doesn't matter. You will change the leaf and the shinobi system. I believe that."

"We will change the village together." Naruto said gravely. "After all, you're its newest jinchuuriki."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Behind them, the kyuubi laughed.

* * *

Sakura had her palms pressed against both boys. Her former teammates were strewn out on the ground like the dead. The rookies had begun to wake, sitting up slowly. One by one they gathered around her now as she pumped as much healing chakra as she could into the two still bodies.

"What if he had you fooled Kakashi." Shikamaru asked. He had a kunai drawn, hovering near Sasuke's still form.

"He didn't. Naruto was never in any danger. All of this was planned." Kakashi said, his hands were raised before him in a placating manner. He stood over Sasuke's body protectively.

"Shikamaru.." Ino said softly, tugging at his sleeve.

"How can you trust him after all of this? He killed the Hokage!"

"This is why he got the flower." Sakura said. "He planned on dying during this fight from the start. He made a suicide pill!"

She knelt over the Uchiha. Shallow breaths were the only thing signifying he lived. Naruto's chakra had burned through the poison, healing the boy with more efficiency than any jutsu Sakura had mastered. The kyuubi's ability to save it's host had clearly done it's work here. She did not mention the black seal that now splayed across Sasuke's abdomen. Did not want to wonder at what it meant.

"If he wanted to kill any of you you'd be dead. Why do you think you're alive right now?" Kakashi asked sharply.

Hinata knelt down next to Sakura, her eyes were fixed on Naruto's lax face.

"I agree with Shikamaru." Neji said, his eyes were narrowed. "We can't trust him. We can't take him back. Let's just finish him here and be done with him."

"Leave him alone." Naruto croaked from the ground. His eyes slid open slowly and he rose to sit. Hinata caught his shoulders, supporting him.

"Naruto!" Sakura said. Relief flooded her. He was physically unharmed, but whatever he'd done with the kyuubi's chakra had knocked him out cold. She diverted her remaining chakra towards healing Sasuke.

"I'm fine." He responded to his friends worried looks. He stood, shaking out his limbs.

"Take it easy." Kakashi said. He did not move from his protective stance.

"None of you will touch Sasuke." Naruto said. He crouched next to the unconscious boy, looking into his face with undeniable tenderness. One tanned hand raised to brush his pale cheek. Sakura's heart twisted. "He stays with me."

"No." Kiba's words came out angry. "How can you still defend him?"

Naruto shook his head, ignoring them. He slung the Uchiha over his back heavily.

"He goes where I go." He said, leaving no room for argument.

"He can't go to the village." Shikamaru pointed out. "If you don't want to kill him you have to leave him here."

"We're going home." He said, and took off without another word.

"That idiot." Shikamaru ground out. "They'll kill him the second he enters the walls. Naruto can't fight the whole village."

"Then we had better be there to help him then." Kakashi pointed out.

He shook his head in exasperation, shoulders slumping.

"Of course we will."

* * *

Naruto parted the way through crowds of frightened onlookers. Sasuke followed behind in his footsteps. Silence fell as he walked among them. Fear of him flashed across every face. The blond pushed forward unphased, ignoring their spectators. They were headed to the Hokage's tower. He had not had time to ask why. Naruto had pulled him from his bed in the hospital, tossing a dark t-shirt and sweatpants at him hastily. The sputtering nurse was ignored completely. Whatever it was they were going to see, it must be important. Idly Sasuke wondered if it was a trial for his crimes. It seemed likely that he would live out to the rest of his days trapped in the prison beneath Konoha, if not killed outright.

That seemed to be where they were headed to now. Naruto greeted the guard at the top of the stairs leading down into the dungeons. Neither acknowledged him as he followed downward.

Naruto turned to face him at the bottom.

"I can't bring your clan back." He said. "I can't bring Itachi back, or take back what he had to do." He turned forward, gesturing at the cells.

"This is the best justice I can bring for you."

The gaunt faces of the elder council members glared at him from behind bars.

Sasuke walked forward slowly. He stared into each pair of hollow eyes.

"Will this be enough?" Naruto asked. He could hear the apprehension in the question. What would happen if he said no? If he demanded their lives in return for his slaughtered kin. Anger burned at his heart at the sight of them. Curling his fingers into a fist. He felt a hand on his shoulder, holding his back.

"If you ever leave this place I will kill you." He said to the room. A promise. He turned on his heel, not wanting to stay a moment longer. They would suffer the end of their days in this pit.

Naruto caught up to him. He was smiling.

Kakashi greeted them at the top of the stairs. The Hokage hat sat perched on his silver hair.

"I assume that went well." He said, taking in their demeanors. Naruto nodded a cautious affirmative. Sasuke could feel his eyes on him, trying to decipher what he was thinking.

The three continued down the hall, away from the prison and toward the light.

"Don't think I did this just for you." Kakashi stated. "I also had friends in the Uchiha."

He gestured toward his hidden sharingan.

Sasuke turned to face him fully.

"How far would you go for that friend?" He asked.

Kakashi tilted his head to the side, put off by the question. Naruto watched the exchange quietly.

"He's been dead a long time."

"But if he were alive?" Sasuke asked.

"As far as Naruto went for you." Kakashi said, nodding toward the blonde. Naruto seemed abashed.

"The masked Akatsuki member is an Uchiha." Sasuke said. "Around your age. He has one sharingan in his left eye."

Kakashi turned away, looking out the window at the village spread below them.

"I did not see Obito die." He admitted finally. "We had to leave him behind...we assumed..."

He bowed his head.

"Thank you for letting me know Sasuke. The things that he said when we rescued Naruto...I will keep this in mind, for the next time."

The boys turned to leave, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts. As they reached the sunlit streets Sasuke slowed to a halt. For the first time he realized he was free. No chains around his wrists or chakra bindings on his arms. The ANBU presence he'd grown accustomed to was nowhere to be found.

"I.." Sasuke started, at a loss. "I'll go to the Uchiha compound." He said finally. Naruto scoffed.

"Like hell you are." He said. "Stay with me." He meant to sound casual, but the sincerity in the command bled through. Sasuke held his gaze. A small crowd of cautious onlookers had formed around them to watch the interaction.

He nodded mutely.

Naruto unlocked the door with shaky hands. As they stepped in Sasuke was overcome with a feeling of familiarity. Somehow, in the past few months, this place had become his home. The first he'd had in years. Naruto dropped his keys on the counter. He stretched and pulled his jacket off, hanging it on a chair. He stood in place, unsure of where to go. Before it had been different. He'd been a captive, under constant observation. Despite living together for months, this was the first time they were really alone in the apartment.

He kicked his sandals off and walked over to the couch, where his belongings still sat in a neat pile on the floor. Naruto sat down beside him. They were silent for a moment, absorbing each other's presence.

Naruto jumped up suddenly, remembering something.

"You stay here, close your eyes." He said, rushing to his room. Sasuke obliged with some amusement. He heard Naruto re-enter and kneel in front of him on the floor, between his knees. Something heavy wrapped around his forehead. His hitai ite.

"Okay, open your eyes." Naruto said. Sasuke opened to see a wide smile spread across the other boys face. He reached his hand out to cup his cheek, running his thumb along the whisker scars. Naruto blushed but did not pull away.

"Don't think I've forgiven you." He said, his mouth twisted downward.

Sasuke shook his head mutely.

"You lied to me." He said. Sasuke's thumb continued to trace along the whiskered cheek.

"You gave me to our enemies." He continued. Sasuke was overwhelmingly aware of Naruto's close proximity. The boy had his elbows resting on his thighs as he looked up at him. His body was nestled between his legs.

"You tried to make me kill you." He pressed his cheek into the palm of Sasuke's hand, closing his eyes.

Sasuke leaned in to kiss him, savoring the sweetness of the moment.

"And _you_ made me a jinchuuriki." He responded as they broke away. "As if the village didn't hate me enough already."

" _Half_ a jinchuuriki." Naruto grinned at him cheekily.

He pushed his shirt up to examine the seal splayed across his abdomen. His skin seemed to burn where Naruto touched it.

"Now we match." He smiled, pulling his own shirt up to show the five-pronged seal swirled around his belly button. Sasuke averted his eyes, feeling heat rise to his face.

"We matched eyes and now we match seals. And someday." He said. His light blue stare was captivating. "We'll lead this village together."

Sasuke bent forward to press his forehead against Naruto's. The two closed their eyes.

Somewhere outside a new council was being formed. Tsunade's eyes flickered open for the first time in months. Villagers milled about, gossiping and colluding over the recent events. Sakura gathered friends to implore them to find forgiveness. Somewhere even further away a masked man with one Sharingan plotted.

Just for this moment, in this room, it was just Naruto and Sasuke. And the path that spread out ahead of them seemed illuminated by all of the light in the world.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End! Thank you for reading/commenting. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I did leave the ending open for a sequal. Not sure if I will get around to writing one, but I may want to come back to this story some day. If you enjoyed Clarity, go ahead and check out my new story Mirror's End :) It will, of course, feature more SasuNaru feels. Also if you have not seen it already, check out the latest Shippuden episodes (476 and 477). Even for a manga only reader, they really out did themselves with the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke. Definitely worth a watch (I cried, no shame). Shout out to noodlepower and hanareader especially for the many comments and analysis along the way! Happy reading fangirls and boys! ~ SundayRowe


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